


The 13 Ghosts of Darcy Lewis

by LadyKnightSkye



Series: Celebration Shenanigans [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 31 Days Of Halloween, Banshee!Wanda, Cat Creature!T'Challa, Civil War-Compliant, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Freak Show!Clint, Hellhound!Maria Hill, M/M, Magic, Monster Mashup, Monsters, Mothman!Sam, Post-Canon, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Psycho!Fury, Robot!Tony, Scooby Doo References, Smut, Spider!Peter, Threesome, Vampire!Steve, WinterShieldShock - Freeform, spider!natasha, werewolf!Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-08 20:40:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 34,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12261684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightSkye/pseuds/LadyKnightSkye
Summary: Halloween is one of Darcy’s favorite holidays, but the spooky fun is about to be hijacked. Now, Darcy must traverse a nightmare vision of the Avengers Compound and collect the 13 ghosts of the Avengers before midnight or else the spell will never be broken. However, she’s going to have some mighty monsters to fight - the Avengers themselves.





	1. Halloween Season (Falling Leaves)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be 31 chapters long, but each chapter will be of drabble length (approx. 200-1500 words). I’m using a prompt list of my own making to guide the story. A chapter will be posted each day, with the exception of the first three, because I couldn’t get to posting them before now. :) I hope you enjoy!

She loved the fall. Leaves swirling down in the defuse light of early morning was one of the most calming experiences out there. She usually didn’t get her butt moving very early, but she couldn’t resist dragging herself up once she noticed the trees on the compound turning bright orange, jaunty red, and cool yellow. It was chilly, but she had bundled up in her favorite slouchy orange cap. Her hands were being warmed by her cup of coffee, and her heavy peacoat completed her warm outfit. 

Darcy couldn’t help but grin as she walked down the path, the breeze swirling leaves around her. The Compound had paths all through the woods, mostly for jogging, but they were mostly empty as the agents of the newly un-blacklisted SHIELD and the other Avengers preferred the indoor track to the outdoor one. It had been a crazy year, what with the rise and fall of the Sokovia Accords as well as Tony and Steve’s very public relationship drama. The two had more or less made up, with Tony finally getting an apology from Steve for keeping secrets, and a promise from Tony to Steve that he’d help Bucky out. The first few months of watching Barnes and Stark warily eyeing each other had been a strain for everyone, but most of the rifts between Avengers had been healed. It had helped that Tony had gotten engaged to Pepper, and finally gotten a bit more counseling for his raging Daddy issues. 

She took a sip of her coffee, and reflected on her year. Jane had been invited back to the Compound, mostly because it was hoped that if she could harness an Einstein-Rosen Bridge they could finally go find Thor. No one had heard from him since the Ultron incident well over two years ago, and it was the unsaid shared opinion that Thor and Barton were the emotional glue that helped balance out Steve and Tony’s egos. Barton was back into semi-retirement, but he came to visit from time to time so that kept Steve and Tony in line. However, he could only do so much. So, Jane had been asked to come work on the Compound with Dr. Banner and Stark, and she’d insisted on bringing Darcy along. Stark had apparently shrugged and said of course. So, here she was, still geeking out a bit over the Avengers, and nursing impossible crushes. 

“Darcy!”

Speaking of.

She turned with a bright smile. The only two people who used the trails for outdoor jogging were currently trotting up to her. The Star Spangled Man with a Plan and his chilly comrade were wearing only sweatpants and UnderArmor t-shirts, and were smiling as they slowed to a walk beside her. The first thing that hit her nose was the sharp odor of sweat, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t the most pleasant scent, but she could live with it if it meant being able to hang out with these two. “Good morning Cap! Bucky.”

Bucky gave her a small grin, and Steve’s smile was warm. “Odd to see you up this early,” Steve said, his voice light. 

“Well, I love the leaves,” she answered. “I love the fall.”

The two men shared a look, and they flanked Darcy as she started to move forward again. They ambled along together for several long minutes without speaking, and the silence was comfortable. Darcy sipped her coffee, and without thinking offered it to the two men. “Want a sip?”

Bucky took her cup, sipped at it and then handed it back to Steve. Bucky made a face while Steve smiled a bit wider in pleasure. “That isn’t coffee, that’s sugar water,” Bucky grumbled.

“Just because you actually liked the Army swill,” Steve replied with a wink at Darcy. 

She giggled, enchanted with the byplay. She’d managed to become friends with these two mostly because she was like them – friends with a scientist, but not a scientist personally. She helped Jane because she liked Jane, not because she was really all that fired up by physics. Bucky and Bruce got along like a house on fire, and for some reason Tony and Steve orbited each other in a completely weird, vitriolic best buddies friendship where they lived to snip and snipe at each other. Seriously, sometimes she felt like she was watching her mom’s Schnauzer yip and growl the cat when they were together. And like her mom’s Schnauzer and the cat, the two would eventually end up companionably laying all over the couch together. (As an aside, Tony was totally the Schnauzer, and Steve the cat.)

“I can’t wait for Halloween!” Darcy finally said. “It’s my favorite holiday! Well, aside from Christmas. Ooh! Have you guys seen _The Nightmare Before Christmas_?”

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Steve answered.

Bucky cocked his head. “Is it the one with the skeleton guy? I think Scott was waxing poetic about it the other day. He and Sam started singing a song from it too, I think.”

Darcy put a hand on Bucky’s gigantic – _ohmygodit’ssohugeandIloveit!_ – bicep and clucked at them. “You poor deprived children! Come on! Go get a shower and meet me in the entertainment room! It’s the first of October! Officially Halloween season!”

As she waltzed along in front of them, the two men followed along in her wake, smiling the entire time.


	2. Enchantress (Witch)

Unbeknownst to the three on the path, another set of eyes watched Darcy carefully. The woman did not look like a stereotypical witch, all gnarled limbs, warty extremities, and green skin, but she was a witch nonetheless. Her eyes swirled amber and her skin glowed golden. Her red painted lips curled up in to a smile that flashed wicked sharp, white teeth. “Oh, little Darcy,” she crooned in a voice like poison honey, “are you the one?”

She stepped out from the trees onto the path, her voluminous skirts trailing leaves behind her. Her pale golden toes peeked out as she daintily strode behind the three, admiring three rather attractive derrieres as she did. “Darcy,” she whispered in a sing-song, “Pepper. Laura. Betty. Jane. Five pretty darlings, no power to your name, come along now, come along now, come right here. Who has the soul to stand up to me?”

A swirl of amber light flashed in and out of being. Her spell cast, the witch glanced up at the stone edifice of the Avengers’ compound. Darcy had been nattering on about their celebrations for a holiday at the end of the month. “All Hallow’s Eve, the date is set,” she murmured, and another swirl of amber flashed away. “Time for a challenge issued and met.”


	3. Gauntlet Thrown (Spells)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game begins.

Darcy loved Halloween. She loved the costumes, and the candy, and the whole ambiance. This year looked to be especially awesome since she got to party with the Avengers. Well, everyone who lived and worked in the compound was invited, from the mightiest janitor to the lowliest director of operations, and that was just fine with Darcy Elizabeth Lewis. She liked people, and this was a chance to mingle with everyone. Not to mention the fact that Laura Barton, Betty Ross, and Pepper Potts were going to be in attendance as well. 

She was just entering the party, glancing around to see if she could find Steve and Bucky – they’d said they’d meet her at the door – when it happened. A shiver ran down her spine, and her skin felt like it had hit a wall of ice. The world went black, then white, then black again, until she found herself standing in a nondescript room. The walls were stark white, and she realized she wasn’t alone. “Guys?”

Pepper, Laura, Jane, and Betty all turned to her. They were dressed in their costumes as she was. Pepper had dressed up as a police officer – of the decidedly not-sexy variety in order to mess with Tony – and Betty was an Egyptian woman. Jane had gone all out as a Tudor era queen, and Laura was a simple demon in an all black outfit with a pair of horns on a headband. Darcy herself was dressed as a witch with a cute little fascinator hat, green and black striped stockings, and a little black dress paired with black lace elbow-length gloves. 

“Good, our last contestant is here,” a voice murmured. The five women turned to see a woman melt out of the whiteness, her golden skin and amber eyes a warm contrast to the sterile color. “I am called Enchantress. I have brought you here for a challenge.”

“A challenge?” Laura barked. Betty glanced around fearfully, and Jane and Pepper looked fierce. 

“Ah, already one of you shows her true colors,” Enchantress murmured, regret coloring her tone. Betty disappeared, and the other four cried out. “Calm yourselves! She is unharmed. But she couldn’t take the challenge ahead.”

“And I repeat,” Laura snapped, “What challenge?”

“Yeah!” Jane agreed, “Who the hell are you to come here and kidnap us?!”

Enchantress grinned, her lips bright and cruel. “It is a shame isn’t it? That you are so strong of will, yet you have no strength of body or power to match. That was Ms. Ross’s problem – her strength of will was not enough. Do not mistake me, she is a brave woman, but her bravery only extends to that which she needs to defend her beloved from her father. Her fire burns because of another, not in spite of them.”

Jane glanced back at Darcy, and then to Pepper and Laura. “I’ve had power, and I don’t want it again.”

“That is true,” Enchantress mused, “You have Ms. Foster. Are you sure though? I offer not the power of the Aether, but something else.”

Jane shook her head. “No. I’m fine as I am. Now let me, and my friends, go.”

Enchantress laughed, the sound dark and ominous. “I’m afraid the only person you disqualify is yourself.”  
Jane disappeared the same as Betty. Pepper and Laura continued to stand their ground, but Darcy approached them. She stayed behind Pepper and Laura, and couldn’t help but feel like the older women were almost like lionesses protecting her. “So, three remain. And you still haven’t told us what this challenge is,” Darcy said finally. “Is this like the Highlander or something? Only one can survive?”

Enchantress grinned, the expression just as sharp and terrifying as everything else about the woman. “No, it is not a challenge to the death. I am not evil, just . . . a little cruel. No one will die tonight. Even if they appear to, it will only be an illusion.”

“So comforting,” Pepper snapped. 

“So, can we opt out like Jane?” Laura continued. 

The golden woman cocked her head. “No, because I must have a winner this night. I could allow two of you to go, but that does not guarantee that I would have a worthy champion. So, I allowed for two of you to be disqualified before the true test begins. Congratulations, ladies, on winning round 1.”

“Let Darcy go,” Pepper said.

The woman smiled. “You are a protector, that is plain, but I will not.”

Darcy put up her hands. “No, Pep’s right, let me go! Whatever magic mumbo-jumbo that you want to bestow, I’m not the right one for it. I’m just the intern.”

Enchantress’s grin turned cold and calculating. “Are you? Is that what Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes think?”

Before Pepper could let loose an invective, or Laura a cry of frustration, or Darcy a gasp of surprised outrage, the three women were gone. The last thing they heard was Enchantress’s voice – “Break the spell, and win the night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mama Pepper and Mama Laura give me life protecting their little Darcy Cub.


	4. Seen This Movie (Here's Johnny!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Darcy is genre-savvy enough to know what this is.

Darcy felt herself tumble to the floor, and cried out in offended agony as her hip met the hardwood. “Dammit,” she muttered.

“Darcy, you okay?” Laura asked, sitting up from where she had also been dumped unceremoniously on the floor.

“Yeah, Pepper?”

The red head was sitting, rubbing her left hip with murder in her eyes. “Other than my pride, I’m alright.” She looked around, her eyes roaming over the room with recognition. “Why are we in Fury’s quarters?”

Nicholas Fury wasn’t supposed to be alive, but it was an open secret around the compound that he lived in Maria Hill’s basement. Tony had renovated the space beautifully, with hardwood floors and dark furniture that fit Fury’s understated masculinity. However, it was also an open secret that Fury didn’t usually live in these rooms since he and Hill had an amorphous relationship that one hesitated to call exclusive but didn’t want to risk the wrath of either partner by hitting on the other. Granted, no one in their right mind would make a move on Fury, and Hill’s glare was vicious.

The three women glanced at one another as they picked themselves off the floor. “What the hell is this?” Laura asked indignantly. “That sick freak’s idea of a joke?”

Pepper cocked her head, and turned towards a door. It was probably to the bedroom. “Do you hear that?”

Darcy strained her ears, and realized that there was a scrapping sound coming from the door that Pepper was looking at. “Do you think Fury’s here?”

“Nick?” Pepper called, her voice strained. The three women could almost feel that something was off, but none of them wanted to admit it aloud. “Nick? It’s Pepper.”

Something slammed into the door, wrenching shrieks from three throats. Laura reached back and grabbed Darcy, who held on in turn. Another slam had the three taking a step back in terrified unison. The third hit caused the wood of the door to splinter. The fourth opened up a hole big enough to see into the other room. “Nick?!” Laura shrieked, terror causing her normally pleasant voice to crack.

In the void appeared an eye. A bloodshot, dark eye. “Here’s Nicky!” Fury said, his voice a creepy singsong. The eye disappeared, and another blow shook the door.

Darcy had seen this movie. _Darcy had seen this movie_. “Come on!” she cried, pulling Laura with her. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

Laura reached out to her other side and pulled Pepper along, the taller redhead not putting up much resistance. The three shot towards the entrance of the apartment, and screamed again when the other door burst open. Over her shoulder, Darcy caught a chilling sight. Nick Fury was dressed in black slacks and a black t-shirt, and wielded a huge ax. “But ladies!” he called, “We’re not done playing!”

“Forget that!” Pepper yelled, barreling up the stairs. They made it up to Hill’s part of the house, moving quickly into the living room. Laura almost literally hit the front door, and they had to slow because the older woman nearly tumbled down the front stairs head first. Hill was one of the few that actually had a house separate from the main compound, but the main building was only a short walk away. The women kept moving, but after a moment, Darcy slowed and looked back. “He’s not following us.”

Laura stopped as well, and Pepper joined them. “The hell was that?” Laura asked. “What the hell was wrong with Nick?!”

“A ghost was riding him,” a familiar yet hated voice replied. 

The three women whirled around and found Enchantress standing with them in the moonlight. She gleamed, and Darcy felt the need to scratch her eyes out well up with vicious purpose. “A ghost was riding him?” Pepper snarled for her.

“Yes,” Enchantress said. “That is your challenge. One of you must capture the thirteen ghosts of the Avengers. If they should prevent you from doing so, you lose the challenge.”

“Thirteen ghosts?” Darcy snapped, “The hell is this? Scooby Doo?”

“How are we supposed to catch thirteen ghosts?”

Enchantress grinned. “That is for you to figure out. Now hurry. You have until midnight or else the spell will become permanent.” As quickly as she was there, she was gone.

“For fuck’s sake,” Pepper snapped, her usual poise gone in the face of what she was experiencing. “ _For fuck’s sake._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No chill Pepper is turning into my favorite lady to write.


	5. The Sight (Moths)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then there were two.

The three women were still standing on the path to the main building. They’d been there for over ten minutes, trying to process and puzzle out just what the hell Enchantress meant by catching ghosts. Pepper was firmly in the camp of this-is-bull-shit, but Laura felt like there was some sort of truth here. “Look, you can argue with me all you want, Pepper, but I think the Enchantress isn’t joking. She’s also not setting us up to fail. I think there’s something here that we’re not getting.”

“Does it matter?” Pepper retorted. “She’s done something to Nick! And probably all of the others as well. God, think about it, she’s probably done something to Tony and Clint!”

Laura’s jaw clenched. Darcy looked away, unable to continue witnessing the argument. She was so confused, so out of her element, that a panic attack seemed only one wrong thought away. Bucky. Steve. Jane. Bruce. Were they okay? What about Natasha, T’Challa, Peter, and Wanda? They were here too. She wasn’t close friends with all of the Avengers, but she could feel nervous for them. None of them deserved this. She glanced back to Maria’s house, and her eyes lit on a silvery moth. It flitted around the porch light, settling on the bannister. 

“Darcy?” a voice asked quietly. 

She didn’t respond, too entranced by the moth. It shimmered, shivered, and then metamorphosed all in the blink of an eye. The white bannister was blocked by a grayish hand, and Darcy’s eyes traveled up a gray arm, to a gray shoulder, to a gray chin. When she met the eyes of the man, she gasped. 

Alexander Pierce stared at her with a malevolence that took her breath away. “I don’t even _know_ you,” she said aloud. 

“Darcy, know who?”

Finally, she turned her head to find Pepper and Laura flanking her. She pointed to the porch. “You don’t see him?” 

“See who?” Laura asked, but Pepper stopped short of asking herself. Her eyes widened, and her mouth worked. “Guys, see who?”

Pepper glanced down at Darcy, and the two women looked back to the porch. “Fury’s ghost,” Pepper answered, “Alexander Pierce.”

“Super Douche?” Laura asked, startling a laugh from Darcy. She watched Pierce’s eyes narrow at the three women standing thirty feet from him. 

“Super Douche?” Pepper asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, it’s what Clint calls him. Says it’s the only proper way to refer to someone who’s done Fury so wrong.” Laura shook her head. “I can’t see him.”

“ _Then_ ,” floated a voice from no where and everywhere at once, “ _I’m afraid you fail my challenge._ ”

And Laura was gone.

“Hey!” Darcy snapped, “Dammit!”

Pepper pursed her lips. “We can’t keep this up. We need a plan, Darcy.”

The younger woman nodded. “I know! I mean, I think I know what Enchantress was talking about - about the ghost riding Fury.”

“Go on,” Pepper said, her voice hardening into the one she used for business. 

Darcy blew out a breath, her eyes still on the shimmering form of Alexander Pierce. “I think Pierce is influencing his behavior some how. Each Avenger is apparently going to try to prevent us from collecting their ghost – according to Enchantress. Maybe they’re influenced by the ghost to do so.”

“So, Pierce is trying to prevent us from catching him, so he turned Fury into a psycho,” Pepper mused aloud. “It actually makes a little sense.”

The younger woman blew out another breath. “It’s kinda what I was afraid of though.”

“Why?”

“Pepper,” Darcy said, marveling at her courage in calling the woman by her given name, “Fury was terrifying, and neither one of us wants to get near any of the others. You know, Wanda. Steve. T’Challa. _Bruce_. All the freakin’ superheroes who could squash us like bugs?”

“Shit.” The redhead looked around. “So we have to figure out how to capture the ghosts, and not die, because I don’t care what that woman says, I’m assuming that I can die in all of this.”

“She never said anything about excruciating pain,” Darcy said, “Maybe we won’t die, but the bitch said nothing about excruciating pain.”

“That too,” Pepper said, sighing and tossing her head as she pivoted on a heel. “So, do we want to experiment? Tony’s taught me enough self-defense, maybe I could distract Nick while you figure out how to capture Pierce?”

Darcy was about to reply, when a growl split the air between them.  
~~

There was a scent on the air. Sharp essential oils from expensive hair products mixed with earthy minerals from equally expensive cosmetics. Beneath it was the sweet scent of female. One scent was mellow, grassy like a fallow field. The other was sharp, sweet, like newly tilled soil awaiting the planting. Ripe. Fertile.

One nose found the scent displeasing – mating not on his mind.

Another nose found it offensive – why were other females in her territory? 

The last two noses wanted to roll in the scent of new life, all of their instincts screaming _mate_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head's up, I put up three chapters tonight to catch us up to where we're supposed to be. Thank you everyone for all the kudos and comments!


	6. Bravery (Black)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Pepper have a bonding moment.

Suffice to say, Darcy and Pepper did not stick around to figure out what was growling at them. Instead, Darcy cried, “Your plan works!” as the two sprinted back to Hill’s house. 

“God I hope I can take him!” Pepper called as she barreled through the front door. Darcy rushed in right after her, even though she knew that Pierce was still hovering right on the porch. An axe-wielding Nick Fury was still preferable to whatever the hell had been growling outside the door. She had the presence of mind at least to not slam the door. Instead she closed it gently. Pepper swung around, looking frantically in every corner. 

Fury was no where to be seen. “ _Shit_ ,” Darcy murmured, ‘Shit, shit, shit.” It turned into a chant, but Pepper didn’t seem to mind. Under her breath she took it up as well. They were in a house, with an axe-wielding madman, and some sort of growling creature was outside. Darcy didn’t even want to contemplate what had to have been done to the others to make them growl like that. Maybe it was T’Challa and his whole woo-woo Black Panther thing?

“Shit, shit, shit,” the two women chanted, together as they moved into the kitchen. The front of the house was the living room-dining room area, with the kitchen set off towards the back corner. It was all open concept, however, it was because Hill preferred open sight lines rather than any fad in house layouts. The stairs to the basement where set under the stairs that led up to the second floor. Darcy finally broke the chant. “I think he went back down to the basement.”

Pepper looked back at her, and held out a hand. “We’re going to be okay, okay? We’re going to be okay.”

Darcy smiled at the older woman and nodded. “You’re my hero, you know that right?”

A delicate blush dusted Pepper’s cheeks. “Good to know. I think right now you’re my hero though. You’re really brave, you know that?”

“I don’t feel like it right now,” she answered, aware that she was one jump scare away from peeing her pants.

“Bravery isn’t having no fear,” Pepper replied, “It’s being able to function in the face of fear.”

Darcy gave her a watery smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m having to remind myself of that right now. I’m terrified. I am so out of my element, and I’m including that one time I was kidnapped and experimented on.”

“I, uh, think that’s almost de rigueur for hanging out with Avengers,” Darcy quipped, “I think I’m the only one who hasn’t had someone . . .” She and Pepper shared a look. “Okay, well, I used to be the only one who hadn’t been abducted for God knows what.”

It was at that point in their warm bonding moment that Nick Fury decided to come barreling back out of the basement. “ _SHIT!_ ” the two women screamed, jumping opposite directions. Darcy tucked and rolled into the kitchen while Pepper went back into the dining room. Nick went after her, swinging his axe down in a heavy arc. She dodged to the left, swinging a leg to kick at Fury’s legs. For a psycho, he was really light on his feet. Instead of going down hard like Pepper wanted him to, he danced away. She rolled under the table as he swung again, and the broad blade of the axe came down on the table. It didn’t destroy the table, but gave Pepper some time to get up and run back to the kitchen. A pair of French doors opened out from the kitchen, and it looked like Pepper was going for them.

Darcy scrambled to her feet, and looked around for a weapon. It was all well and good to talk about Pepper distracting Fury while she worried about the ghost, but in practice their plan wasn’t going well at all. She had to help Pepper subdue Fury. She grabbed a chef’s knife from the magnetic strip in the wall, but when she turned to use it, found herself screeching and ducking as an axe whistled towards her head. The weapon clanged into the refrigerator at her back, and her knife skittered away along the floor. The blade cut her hand deep in the flesh at the mound of her thumb. Blood flew as she over compensated and ended up slamming her head into the cabinet under the sink. 

She went down hard, stunned from the blow to her head. She blinked trying to clear her eyes, but to no avail – she could only lay in stunned silence as Fury raised his axe again. She heard Pepper cry out as she closed her eyes, hoping her death would be quick and painless. However, the blade never fell. 

There was the sound of shattering glass and an ungodly roar. Darcy even felt shards pelt her harmlessly as Fury cried out in offended, well, fury. She opened her eyes, scrambling back into the cabinetry as she watched Fury being thrown across the front space by one Steven Grant Rogers. She nearly cried in relief at seeing him. His strong broad shoulders were welcome in this nightmare. Pepper blinked owlishly at him as he turned to look at the woman on the floor in the kitchen. A weird rumbling sound began to fill the space. He took two heavy steps to her, and Darcy blinked again as a few things registered.

His skin was deathly pale. He was dressed in black leather pants and a blue silk shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the collar was open to reveal the strong column of his throat. He knelt beside her, and picked up her injured hand. He didn’t say a word, but Darcy shivered at the feel of his chilly skin against hers. His hands were still big, strong, gentle, but all the warmth she usually felt from them were gone. He raised her bleeding hand to his mouth, and his tongue darted out in a serpentine manner. It licked along the gash, cleaning blood from her skin. She had yet to look him in the eye, too busy drinking in his simple presence, but now her eyes were drawn up to meet his as he traced esoteric figures on her skin with his tongue. When she met them finally, she felt her chest seize. 

He wasn’t just tracing random patterns into her skin. 

His eyes were red.

He was licking the blood from her skin and swallowing it.

He had sharp, elongated canines.

He was the one rumbling, because he was fucking purring. 

He was purring because he was a _goddamn vampire_.

Darcy had never fainted before, but she thought, _There’s a first time for everything_ , as her world faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments!


	7. Kisses (Vampire)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper knows way more about Maria and Nick than maybe she should.
> 
> Also, Steve tries to start some sexy funtimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain some NSFW content. Please be advised!

Pepper stared at the broken French doors a little dumbly. She’d just watched Steve throw Nick across a room and make off with Darcy, but she couldn’t move as of yet. She took a series of deep breaths, and then stood. Immediately her mind began to plan. First thing, she needed to secure Fury. She had faith that based on his display, Steve wouldn’t hurt Darcy. With a slightly hysterical laugh, she mused that hurting her was the furthest thing from his mind - unless one counted being pounded into the sheets until you walked bowlegged as being harmed. 

Which reminded her where she could find some restraints.

After retrieving handcuffs and lengths of nylon rope from Hill’s bedroom, she went to work securing Fury. She decided that a good old-fashioned hog-tie would be best, so handcuffed his hands behind his back, and then tied his feet together. She tied his hands to his feet, and then for good measure, tied his thighs together as well as his upper arms. Thank God for Maria being free and open about her sexual preferences. 

Alexander Pierce had made an appearance, but she ignored him, deciding that she wasn’t going to deal with the ghosts just yet. Fury wasn’t going anywhere fast, so she had some time to go looking for Darcy. Just because she was sure that Steve was more interested in sex than killing didn’t mean that they had time for that. Plus, she was pretty sure that he was a vampire, and she couldn’t let him accidentally kill Darcy. Arming herself with the leg of a destroyed table, Pepper stepped out into the night. 

~~

The world was still black, but when Darcy began to swim back to consciousness it was also alternating soft and hard. Someone was also petting her hair, dragging their hand in hypnotic strokes from her eye to the back of her head that threatened to put her back under. She would have returned to slumber if not for the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something. Something really important. Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring at something blue. Another blink made her realize that it was a shirt. Who had been wearing that shirt?

“Darcy?”

She looked up into blue eyes. “Steve?”

He smiled gently at her, all traces of the beast that had first greeted her at Hill’s house gone. She tensed, her mind finally clearing enough to remember what had sent her into a faint in the first place. He frowned as he shifted. Darcy gulped, realizing that she was laying on a bed with him, her head on his lap. He moved until he was lying prone with her, gently placing her head on a pillow, and propping himself up on an elbow. His shirt stretched over his chest in interesting ways, and she couldn’t help but stare at the column of his throat. He leaned in, his nose at her temple, and she felt his deep inhale. “Steve?” she asked again, shakily. 

He didn’t answer, choosing to kiss her softly on her temple. She froze, not sure what to make of the gesture. What the hell was he doing? He pressed more kisses to the side of her face, and her heart leaped as he moved down to kiss her on the cheek. Steve had done that countless times in the last six months, ever since they’d grown close a friends. She kissed him on the cheek all the time, as did Bucky with the two of them. It was just something they did as a greeting and as a parting. Some days it was their friendly pecks on the cheek that kept her going through the day, and she always hoped her gentle kisses to theirs made a hard day easier for him and for Bucky. When they’d been strangers, she’d admired them for their looks, when they’d been acquaintances she’d admired them for their personalities, and when they’d become friends she admired them for their big hearts. She cared deeply for them.

But having Steve kiss her like this was different. Each touch was gentle and sweet, but he’d never rained kisses on her like this. They’d never strayed from the apple of cheek, never been placed on her forehead and her chin and her jaw, and certainly never hovered so near her lips. “Steve,” she breathed.

He shifted again, his knees bracketing her hips, and his hands stroked down her arms. He hovered over her, and she stared into his rapidly darkening eyes. They were heavy-lidded, languid, and his nostrils flared as he took deep gulping breaths. He leaned down and finally captured her lips, pulling her into a passionate kiss that hazed over her mind. His lips were firm as he kissed her like he was a dying man and she his only salvation. His hands stroked down her body, until one finally lit on her breast, squeezing gently. She gasped, but that only allowed his tongue entrance to her mouth. She ground her hips, turned on beyond all belief, but unable to find any satisfaction since his crouch left a gap between their bodies. She could feel her panties beginning to dampen, her core aching for something to fill it. The scratchy lace of her bra was abrading her nipples, and his big hands were not helping anything. 

She was almost lost to the sensual fog, but as his kiss turned even more ravenous, something pricked her tongue. Her eyes had fallen shut in her lassitude, but they popped back open. She pulled back, breaking their kiss. “Steve, stop!”

He growled, but only moved to her neck. She felt the scrape of fangs, and decided that enough was a-fucking-nough. In his desire and obvious blood lust, Steve-o had forgotten the first thing any woman was going to do to defend herself. She curled her abs brutally so that her knee flew up at something near light speed. He made a satisfyingly high pitched shriek as her patella made a very hard connection with his testicles. He rolled off the bed, cupping his groin as she rolled the opposite direction. The masculine bedroom was unfamiliar, but that didn’t matter as much as reaching the door and pounding down the stairs. She wasn’t sure how long she had until he was up again. She knew from watching him that one time with Natasha that it only took him a quarter of the time to get up and recover from his balls being bashed. 

She’d nearly reached the front door when he suddenly grabbed her arm. He whirled her around, his eyes blood red. Darcy had never been afraid of Steve, but she was now. He was like Fury – completely out of his right mind. Neither one of them would be this violent, and the day Steve used his strength to hurt someone for his own amusement was the day the world ended. “Leave me alone!” she screamed, fear starting to turn to terror. 

His eyes widened, and Darcy thought she saw some of the real Steve bleeding through. He released her arm, looking at his own hand in confusion. He looked back at her, and opened his mouth as if to say something. However, it was all lost as for the second time in less than an hour, something came barreling through a glass door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I love writing no-fucks-are-given Pepper? I love it. And sorry about the aborted sexy fun times, but . . . maybe non-aborted sexy fun times later?


	8. Dr. Serizawa Was Right (Into the Woods)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy escapes Steve's house, but the woods may not have been the best way to go.

The trees were eerie in the moonlight as Darcy raced past them. She tried not to be too loud, but she was a lover not a fighter, so her breaths were wheezing gasps. She was tempted to go off the path, but she was afraid that she would hurt herself, and right now, she needed to put as much distance between herself and Steve’s house as she could. She really couldn’t deal with the shit show that had just started up there. Her feet pounded the ground as she frantically followed the jogging path back towards the main compound.

Steve’s house was about a mile or so away from the main compound, across the forest and rolling meadows that were used for training. Like Maria Hill, he was high enough in the food chain that he got his own place on premises. Everyone else had rooms in the housing wing of the main compound, but as their leader he was housed elsewhere. However, like Hill and Fury, he had a housemate in one James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky also lived in the basement, but as with Fury, Darcy was pretty sure the basement bed wasn’t used much. It wasn’t so much an open secret as a whispered rumor though – she was really the only one who suspected anything, and that was mostly because she had visited them a time or two where it was just the three of them. They’d been very physical with one another, more than she thought even friends from the forties would be. Bucky had even taken to giving Steve kisses on the cheek when it was just the three of them too.

She slowed down, realizing that she couldn’t keep up the pace. She wasn’t a complete couch potato – all residents of the compound were required to have some physical training as part of the standard operating procedures – but she wasn’t a runner. Darcy had discovered a love of fencing, and Bucky had been only a little reluctant to start showing her how to properly fight with a knife. She even had a plastic prop knife that she used the same way other people used fidget spinners. It generally tended to freak out guests when they dropped by Jane’s lab unannounced. Most days she was sitting at a computer or behind Jane flipped her little faux Bowie in increasingly complicated acrobatic patterns. 

Darcy plopped down on the roots of a tall oak tree, stretching her tired legs out and hoping that her breathing would ease in a few minutes. She needed to get back to Hill’s house and to Pepper, but first, she needed to sit and process the last hour or so. She figured that the two, uh, _people_ , back at the house would be occupied with each other for a little while, so she was probably okay on that front. She giggled a little hysterically, thinking back.

The shattering of Steve’s glass door had heralded the arrival of a creature that Darcy had only seen in horror movies and smutty paranormal romance novels. It stood somewhere in the neighborhood of seven feet tall, was covered in dark brown fur, and had a bizarrely truncated muzzle. Its eyes had been a piercing gray, and its ears had stood perched on the top of its head like an alert German Shepherd. It wore only black pants, but these were stretched out over thick legs that were all muscle. It was growling, a deep, hellish sound that had barely registered when she first realized who it had to be. The metal left arm – complete with a clawed hand – left little mystery. “Bucky?” she whispered.

One ear swiveled toward her, but the other stayed flat on his head. His dog-like lips had pulled back from his teeth. “ _God dammit Steve_!” he growled, his voice a basso rumble.

Steve turned from her, but Darcy could still see his profile. His lips had also pulled back from his teeth, and somehow Steve’s long canines were far more intimidating that Bucky’s. His eyes were blood red, and Steve’s whole face was a rictus of absolute rage. “ _Fuck off, Bucky_.”

Bucky barked at him, honest to God barked. But it wasn’t the yippy bark of her mother’s Schnauzer. Oh no, instead, it was the barrel-chested bark of Cerberus guarding the gates of Erebus. “ _You’re scaring her! She won’t stay if you scare her_!”

Steve snapped his teeth at Bucky. “ _I said fuck off! I’ve got this_.”

Bucky barked again, and Steve took a menacing step forward. For a moment, Darcy tried to decide if she could head off the testosterone driven fight that was about to happen, but the sage voice of Mr. Ken Watanabe filled her head. _Let them fight_.

Yep, nope, not getting between Godzilla and King Kong. Not happening.

Instead, as soon as the two launched themselves at each other, she booked it out the front door. There’d been an anguished howl mingled with a roar when she’d hit the forest, but she refused to look back. Now, here she was, sitting in the dark by herself wondering if maybe she shouldn’t have stuck around. Bucky and Steve had looked like they were going to honest to God kill each other. 

“You did the right thing,” came that hated, sugar and ice voice of the Enchantress. “I . . . underestimated their resentment of one another.”

Darcy turned to the woman with a sneer. “Yeah, what was your first clue?”

The Enchantress sighed. “They both have their ghosts that need to be laid to rest, Darcy. They love each other, but they are also poisoning one another.”

She was about to make another snide remark, but the honest sadness in the Enchantress’s voice struck her dumb for a moment. She just stared, drinking in the sight of the beauty of this woman in all of its dangerous glory. “Why do you sound like you care?”

“You may not believe me,” the older woman replied softly, “but I do care about you and the Avengers. You are our best hope, but these ghosts will destroy them before the true war has even begun. Steve and Bucky . . . Tony . . . Wanda . . . Nick . . . Their powers and skills and suits are what will defend all of the universe from evil, but they are ridden by ghosts that either they can’t or won’t let go of.”

“So this isn’t just about you being a bitch,” Darcy replied, “This is about helping the Avengers too.”

The Enchantress laughed. “I really should be offended, but you are not wrong. Too long without my anchors has left me cruel.”

“Anchors?”

The Enchantress only smiled. “Win the challenge and find out.” She winked out of existence. Darcy sat for a few minutes more, chewing over what the other woman had said in her mind before rising to her feet. She had places to be, ghosts to catch. Because now, now she knew that this was more than one woman’s ego. This was an opportunity to help her dearest friends and their allies. She’d taken only a few steps before the sound of angry growling rumbled through the air. She stopped, sighed, and threw up her hands.

“For fuck’s sake! What now?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, look whose starting to move the plot forward! This writer!
> 
> By the way, thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos!


	9. Kirk Grim (Hellhound)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy hits an epiphany.

            “Nice doggie! I love dogs!”

            Suffice to say, Darcy was regretting her earlier outburst of temper now that she fully realized what had been growling behind her. Like Bucky and Steve, another Avenger had been transformed into a creature, but this time much less humanoid than them. This particular Avenger had become a huge, shaggy black dog that circled the tree Darcy had scrambled up in her utter terror. The dog looked like a wolfhound on steroids, all legs and tapered snout. Its fur was long and matted, and Darcy hoped to hell that the blood was fake.

            The dog barked again, its barrel chest giving forth a bark that was much more intimidating than Bucky’s. “Shit!” Darcy wheezed in terror.

            “ _She’s a little offended that you think she’s a dog,_ ” came a gentle voice from beside her.

            Darcy startled, and only just saved herself from falling out of the tree. She looked to her left to find the gray, ghostly image of Agent Phil Coulson sitting next to her. He was dressed in his usual sedate suit, though what color it was she couldn’t determine. She gaped, and cocked her head so far to the side that her ear was at her shoulder. “But you’re not dead.”

            Coulson shrugged. “ _I know, but I’m still Maria’s ghost._ ”

            The sound that came out of Darcy’s mouth could be described as many things, but dignified was not one of them. “ _That’s Maria Hill?!_ ”

            This time, the dog’s bark was a little higher pitched. “I’m sorry!” Darcy called down, “But I expected you to be, like, Sam or something! Maybe Natasha? I could imagine Natasha as a borzoi honestly.”

            “ _No_ ,” Ghost Coulson said with a chuckle, “ _that’s Maria. And she’s not a dog. She’s a hellhound._ ”

            “A hellhound?” Darcy said aloud. “Like, hound of hell? Burning eyes and sulfur and all that?”

            “ _Yes. Maria’s grandmother used to tell her old stories of them, though she called them kirk grims – guardians of churchyards and young women._ ”

            The young woman in the tree couldn’t help but snort. “That’s lovely. So why did she chase me up a tree?”

            Ghost Coulson frowned. “ _I’m not sure. I can’t talk to her. Every time I try, she gets upset. I tried to tell her not to go after you, but then . . ._ ”

            “Gotcha,” Darcy said glumly. “She did anyway.” She scrunched up her nose. The Enchantress had mentioned ghosts riding the Avengers, and she and Pepper had figured that the ghosts were the reason that the Avengers were going crazy, but could they be wrong? “But why _you_? You’re not dead.”

            “ _Who said someone’s ghost had to be dead?_ ” Ghost Coulson asked.

            She blinked, and managed to tune out the growling hellhound at her feet. She and Pepper had only seen Alexander Pierce, so they’d naturally assumed that the people they were dealing with were all dead. That meant that they thought they were supposed to _literally_ capture the ghost. But now here she was sitting with Phil Coulson, who was definitely not dead. How could she catch a ghost that was not really a ghost? “You’re not the ghost of Phil Coulson are you? Not really?”

            He shrugged. “ _I don’t know. I just am._ ”

            The Enchantress’s words filtered back. “ _They are ridden by ghosts that they either can’t or won’t let go of_.”

            Never once had she said that the ghosts were dead. She’d said to capture them, but was that a clever bit of misdirection? Or was there something Darcy still didn’t understand? And what about all the different things the Avengers were turning out to be? Fury had become an axe murderer, Steve a vampire, Bucky a werewolf, and Maria a hellhound. Why did they become those things? Maria made some sort of sense – her grandmother apparently told her stories of them. But wait, how did Ghost Coulson know? Darcy looked back at him, things starting to click in her mind. “You’re not a separate ghost from Maria. You’re part of her, aren’t you?”

            Again he shrugged. “ _Maybe. All I know is that I want to help you._ ”

            Like Hill. Maria Hill wasn’t the warmest person ever, but Darcy never doubted the woman always meant well. Where Natasha could be stone cold and on the Spock end of the whole “the needs of the many” debate, Hill was firmly on the side of the few. Maria was always willing to help others, and had gotten involved with SHIELD because of her desire to help. To protect. _Like the kirk grim_.

            However, before her revelation could go much farther, a furious bit of growling drew her attention back down to the ground. Maria had abandoned her circling to growl at something loping up the path. A sharp bark had Maria backing away slowly, her back arched and her fur standing on end. Her ruff was stiff. Another bark had her turning and loping off. Ghost Coulson sighed, and disappeared. Darcy reached out to him, but it was too late.

            She looked down into gray eyes. “Hi Bucky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kirk grims are guardian spirits of churchyards, and in folklore can appear as black dogs. Sometimes these black dogs are referred to as hellhounds. :) A little piece of folklore for ya folks. 
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments!


	10. Epiphany (Werewolf)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy finally figures some of it out.

            The clash between werewolf and vampire was short. After the first blows landed, they realized that the woman had run out the door. Bucky keened a howl as Steve roared in frustrated anger. He picked up the nearest piece of furniture and tossed it in the air. Bucky took a step back, and watched Steve work out his anger on his living room furniture. When he was done, the vampire sat heavily on the floor. Quietly, the two stared at the open door. “Good going, Steve,” Bucky barked.

            Steve looked up at his friend and sneered. There was a part of him that was trying frantically to remind himself that this was _Bucky_ and he needed to be gentle because Bucky’d been through a lot. However, the greater part of him was just annoyed. “Fuck off.”

            The werewolf growled. “What is your problem?”

            “You!” Steve screamed, “You! You are my problem!” And Bucky was his problem, even that part deep down that screamed that he shouldn’t be saying these things agreed that Bucky was his problem. He woke up every day terrified that he’d find the basement empty because Bucky had fled in the night. He watched every word he said so as to not trigger Bucky’s PTSD because he was afraid that Bucky would leave him again. He was just so afraid that Bucky would leave. His other fear had already come true – he’d already scared off Darcy.

            Bucky’s eyes narrowed in rage. “And you’re my problem! Why won’t you talk to me? ‘Fuck off’ is not a proper fucking conversation!”

            Steve leaned forward, his innate sass rearing its ugly head. “Fuck off.”

            Bucky barked at him, and turned and loped out the front door. A shaft of pain sliced through Steve. His worst fear was being left alone, and here he was again. Alone. The vampire sat on the floor in his trashed front room, and felt tears running down his face. He didn’t see the moth that fluttered around his head.

 ~~~

            At seven feet, Bucky was more than able to reach up and grasp her around the waist. He lifted her from the tree branch, and Darcy couldn’t help the gasp that passed her lips. His hands were huge, but he was careful not to prick her with his claws. She half expected him to set her down, but instead, he shifted her into a bridal carry. “Bucky!”

            He growled, but didn’t speak. Instead, he just squeezed her tighter. She squeaked, but didn’t struggle. His hold was tight, but it wasn’t hurting her. She looked up into his monstrous face, and sighed. She was beginning to get used to being jerked around by the random Avengers monsters. She let her cheek rest against his chest, and wondered at the feel of his fur. It was soft, but the texture was still a little coarse. He smelled like a dog, warm and musky, but not unpleasant. Without really thinking, she began to pet his chest.

            “Sorry,” he rumbled.

            “For what?” she asked, stilling her hand.

            “For what happened back at Steve’s house,” he replied, his bass voice a hellish rumble in the quiet of the forest.

            Darcy blinked at him, wondering if she should be truly upset by what had happened. “It’s okay. This . . . none of this is you and Steve.”

            He tensed and stopped moving. Darcy leaned back so that she could look into his face. His gray eyes were sad, and they gleamed wetly in the moonlight. He looked so tortured that she reached up and stroked his cheek. Bucky shuddered, and lifted her so that she was eye level. Darcy continued to stroke his cheek, the fur a little finer than the pelt that covered his chest. He continued to stare at her, but she found that she couldn’t be self-conscious about it. He shifted his arm under her so that his metal one took her weight and formed a seat beneath her bottom. The other hand came up and his huge fingers traced her cheek.

            As with Steve earlier, she wasn’t sure what to make of the gesture. Bucky was a quiet man, prone to long periods of introspection. He was far from the devil may care youth that Steve liked to talk about. She liked that about him though. Bucky had a sharp wit, and oddly, he was far more emotive than Steve was. It wasn’t that he was emotional per se, just that he was more ready to discuss and share his emotions. If he was angry, Bucky said something. If something made him happy, he said something. Meanwhile, Steve had basically three settings: lovey kitty, Grumpy Cat, and rabid honey badger. Often there was no context as to why he was in a good mood, a grumpy mood, or a rage. He was the Grandmaster Stoic, and that was probably one of the reasons why Tony drove him crazy.

            One of his claws slid along the skin beneath her lower lip, and she shivered. He jerked his hand away, but she grabbed it and guided it back to cup her cheek. “It’s okay,” she murmured, “I know you won’t hurt me.”

            “I’m not so sure,” he replied, his voice quiet and sad. “It seems that’s all I’m good at.”

            She blinked, and stroked his hand. She kept his palm against her cheek, and after a moment he began to stroke her hair and the side of her face. His palm wasn’t covered with fur, and she enjoyed the sensation of it moving across her cheek and hair. “Why?” she asked softly.

            He shook his head. “I just feel like I am,” he murmured, “I feel like that’s all I’m good for. Hurting things. Hurting people.”

            Suddenly, her earlier revelation came roaring back. Her face split into a smile so bright that Bucky swore her face began to radiate light. She leaned up and forward, using his shoulders as a platform. Her lips met his in a strange, awkward kiss that turned out to be kinda nice. His lips didn’t work in the same way as they would as a human, but Darcy found she didn’t really care. She pulled back, her smile just as bright as before. “Thank you! I think I’ve figured it out now!”

            He cocked his head, and she giggled a bit at how much like a dog he looked. “I’ve figured it out Bucky! Why you’re a werewolf and Steve’s a vampire, and Fury’s a psycho and Maria’s a kirk grim! What me and Pepper are supposed to be doing!”

            Bucky blinked at her, but a masculine snort sounded from behind her. Both of them turned to find Steve leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and his face angry. “Yeah, so why am I a vampire?”

            _Shit,_ Darcy thought, _Rabid honey badger._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be a hot little interlude like Steve's chapter, but my muse insisted that this was going to a fluffy bit of angst and comfort. Now, the day after tomorrow promises to be different . . . . :)
> 
> Thanks again for all the comments and kudos!


	11. Truth (Ghosts)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy says what needs to be said.

The silence that stretched between the three people on the path was awkward and laced with tension. Darcy glanced between Steve and Bucky, and tapped the creature holding her on the chest. Understanding what she wanted, he set her down gently, and she tried not to grimace at his obvious posture of aggression. As soon as Steve had spoken Bucky had tensed up, his ruff standing on end and his ears back. Steve was also tense, his shoulders back and his eyes never leaving Bucky, even when he finally addressed her. “So, what’s your epiphany?” he asked, his voice dipping gutturally.

            Darcy blinked at him. Steve could be abrasive, it was a function of his stoicism, but this was . . . different. This must be the real Steve, the angry man out of time. “She made you a vampire because you’re afraid of being a creature of death.”

            The forest went silent, as if every creature had heard her and understood her danger. Even the soft susurrus of Bucky’s breaths ceased. Steve’s eyes had widened, but Darcy forged on, pulling together all the pieces of the man she knew as Steven Grant Rogers. “You know, Wanda told me once that out of everyone’s fears, yours was the saddest because it was already happening around you. A man out of time, a man afraid that he couldn’t escape violent conflict, a man afraid that he couldn’t live without it. Everyone you’d ever loved dead or dying before your eyes and there was nothing you could do about it. And then you latch on to the one person from your past that’s still alive, _and you can’t live without him._ All around you is death but there’s that one thing that keeps you alive. So you are a vampire in your own mind – an undead man who can only survive with the life of another.”

            When she chanced a glance up at Bucky, his gray eyes were so wide she was afraid his eyeballs would pop out of his head. When she looked at Steve, there were tears running down his face, pale pink as he wept his heart’s blood. “And Bucky?” she continued, even though her heart was breaking at being the unfortunate soul who had to rip the Band-Aid off, “He thinks he’s a monster. A ravenous beast. I think the only reason he’s kept his reason more than you, Fury, or Hill is because he has been forced to confront his personal ghosts more than anyone else in the Avengers. All the rest of you have had the luxury of sticking your heads in the sand when it comes to the things that haunt you. He’s had to stare in the dark mirror and fight them every damn day.”

            The silence was broken by a sharp laugh and a snort. Neither Bucky nor Steve reacted, but Darcy whipped her head around to find two young men standing to her left. Their faces were familiar, yet so strange. A young man dressed in a suit slouched over, his hands in his pockets. He was grayed out like Pierce and Coulson had been, but she knew that his hair should be blond and his eyes blue. There was a defiance on his face that she rarely saw on his current counterpart’s, but it was unmistakably Steve. The taller man was also dressed in a suit with his dark hair slicked back, but she recognized Bucky as well in the easy smiling man.

They both looked at her, and she reached out to them. “But the problem you both have,” she continued, needing to say it, “is that you don’t accept that you are never going to be those guys from 1939 ever again. And that’s okay. That’s growing up. We never get to be the people we were ten years ago, or you know, seventy years ago again. Those people are dead, and new people have replaced them. Yes, your lives haven’t been the kindest, but you are not monsters. You’re not parasites or beasts that only live to destroy. You’re two of the most wonderful men I’ve ever met, kind because you know what it’s like when life is cruel, protective because you know what horrors other people can unleash, and so perfect for one another it makes my heart hurt sometimes.”

The two ghosts glanced over at their current selves. Darcy took a deep breath, as feelings flooded through her. For a moment, she didn’t understand completely what she was feeling, but a new _knowing_ accompanied the impressions now swirling about her head. “Just . . . Steve, don’t try to hold Bucky so tightly. He won’t leave you. And Bucky, don’t forget that Steve needs reassurance that you’re here to stay.”

The two creatures and their ghosts regarded her with silent eyes. Steve still wept, Bucky had started as well, and the two ghosts smiled at her gently. Then, Steve pushed off of the tree he had been leaning against, and he approached Bucky. Wordlessly, he enfolded his friend in a hug that Bucky returned. She couldn’t help but smile at the awkward way that Bucky was having to hold Steve.  “I’m sorry Bucky,” Steve finally said. “It’s just . . . I can’t lose you. I know I need to let go of the past, but I can’t.”

“It’s okay, Steve,” Bucky replied, “but I need you to talk to me. To tell me things straight out and not pussy-foot around it. I’m not going to break and run if you piss me off.”

Darcy held back a laugh at that. Suddenly, her outstretched hand was taken by two spectral ones, and she felt a curious warmth on her left ring finger. “ _Thanks doll_ ,” ghost Bucky said sweetly.

Ghost Steve smiled, an expression that lit up his face. “ _But you missed a little something there, baby. Bucky’s not the only one I can’t lose._ ”

She frowned, but before she could ask, the ghosts were gone. In their place were two interlocking rings on her left ring finger. Each ring was adorned with a gemstone star, one red and one clear. The stars locked together, and the bands were of gleaming silver. Darcy smiled, and said softly, “I think I figured out how to catch ghosts.”

“Darcy?”

She looked up, and her smile faded a bit. The two men-creatures were regarding her with a curious look. She waved at them and pointed to her hand. “Look! I caught my first two ghosts! Just eleven more to go!”

Bucky looked down at Steve. Steve looked up at Bucky. “I think our little ghosties were trying to tell us something Buck.”

“Ya think? Well, we had already talked about it a good bit, so maybe now is the time.”

Darcy glanced back and forth between them. “What?”

The two parted ways, Steve going left as Bucky went right, and circled around her. “See, your analysis of the situation is missing something, doll,” Bucky said with a little growl in his voice.

“You assume that we only have eyes for each other,” Steve added. “We don’t.”

Like a prey animal surrounded, Darcy tried to follow them both at once. Ultimately, she couldn’t follow them both, and found herself bracketed by seven feet of werewolf on one side and six feet of vampire on the other. Massive paws pulled her into the space between Bucky’s knees as he seated himself on a massive rock that had been left beside the trail. She felt Steve at her back as he breathed into her ear, “We want you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . . So you know the sexy fun times? 
> 
> Yeah, next chapter is going to be sexy fun times.
> 
> I regret nothing.
> 
> (Thank you all for all the love!)


	12. Sinnamon (Pumpkin Spice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexy fun times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, this is soooooooo NSFW. I don't even think I'm old enough to read this. ^.~ Please be gentle, it's been awhile since I've written smut.

Somehow, Darcy was still wearing her little fascinator pinned into her hair. She noticed this, of course, because Steve’s first action was to pull all of the lingering pins out of her hair and toss the tiny hat away. Her hair finally came free of where it was half up and half down, falling around her shoulders. Bucky ran his claws through it, careful not to pull on the inevitable tangles. Steve gathered it up, and pushed it to one side so that he could bury his face in the curve of her neck. “We’ve been wondering what it would be like for you to be with us,” he murmured.

            Bucky chuckled, the sound striking Darcy low in the belly. His huge hands slid down her front, claws teasing at the neckline of her sexy little back dress. “Those kisses on the cheek? I lived for those. To get to feel you up against me? I mean, Steve’s nice to look at, but his tits aren’t as nice as yours.”

            Steve nipped her neck before resting his chin there to give Bucky a glare. “I wanna argue, but you have a point.” He suddenly cupped her breasts and pushed his hips into her butt. Darcy gasped. She had more or less known where this was going, but it was still a completely different animal having the evidence of Steve’s arousal pushed into her back just above her buttocks.  

            Bucky tugged at the top of her dress, and the soft knit was pulled down to her waist. The dress was sleeveless, so she shimmied them over her arms, but Steve pulled her lace gloves back up her arms. Now there was nothing between her skin and his questing hands as they traced gently across her belly and sides. Bucky growled a little as he buried his head into her impressive cleavage. Her bra was still fully on, but Bucky didn’t seem to mind as he rubbed his snout between her breasts. His tongue snaked out of his mouth, and slid into the cup of her bra. “Holy God,” she moaned as Steve placed kisses along her neck.

            “Oh my.”

            The three froze, and turned to see the Enchantress standing on the path. She shined in the low light, but Darcy thought she looked a little less . . . perfect than before. The woman was smiling, a satisfied expression that caused Bucky’s hackles to raise. Steve turned completely so that his big body shielded Darcy. “Who the hell are you?” he ground out.

            The Enchantress shivered. “Oh, I was right, you are _just_ like Macai. All broody and protective.”

            “What do you want?” Darcy asked, her voice a whine. She winced at her childish tone, but dammit! She was _this close_ to having Bucky sucking on her nipple! God she loved it when men sucked her tits, and here comes the High Queen of Cock Blocking!

            “I am the Enchantress, the architect of your little interlude,” the other woman answered finally. “And what I want is to congratulate you, Darcy. You’ve collected two ghosts. Ms. Potts has retrieved one, so that means only ten more ghosts are in need of capture. I also wanted to congratulate you on your good personal fortune.”

            Steve growled, and Bucky’s ears were flat. “So you’re the one who did this?”

            The Enchantress cocked a brow. “Are you really going to posture towards me, young man? If not for me you wouldn’t be about to enjoy the ample charms of your two lovers. As it is, perhaps it’s a good thing I’m going to stop you here. Remember, Darcy, you are under a time limit.”

            “Midnight,” Darcy murmured.

            “Yes, midnight. It is currently 8:45. You don’t really have time to engage in any lovemaking,” the Enchantress said, her tone teasing. “However, I like you, Darcy, and you, Steve.” The Enchantress swirled her hand, and a large hourglass appeared. “I have a gift for you three to celebrate your revelations. This hourglass holds two hours of time, and when it is tipped whatever room it is in will continue to move forward in time – but the rest of this spell world will not. Two hours will pass where the hourglass stands, but only two minutes will pass everywhere else.”

            She swirled her arms, and the world faded to black, then white, then black again. When Darcy blinked her eyes finally, she realized they were standing in Steve’s bedroom again. Steve still had his fangs, but his skin had warmed instead of being icy cold against hers. Bucky had also more or less reverted back to being a human – except for his own fangs and clawed hands. “And I also give you a comfortable bed,” the Enchantress laughed as she set the hourglass on Steve’s dresser. “Enjoy yourselves!”

            Then it was just the three of them. Darcy was about to make a pithy comment when warm lips nipped at her ear. “I have no idea who the hell that was, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth,” Steve murmured into her ear.

            “Nope,” Bucky agreed as he kissed her stomach. “because now I can really enjoy myself.”

            Darcy laughed as she reached back to caress Steve. He kissed the palm of her hand before returning to work on her neck. He traced kisses down from beneath her ear to her collarbone, and every slow, drawn out kiss caused her to moan. Bucky continued to kiss her stomach, and his hands reached up underneath the cups of her bra to fondle her breasts. He pinched and rolled her nipples, laving her navel as she felt her panties grow wet. Her pussy ached to be filled, and she moaned louder in protest of her predicament.

            Steve leaned back for a moment, his fingers dancing on her back as he unhooked her bra. Bucky was the one who pulled it off, again saving her black gloves from being taken off. “I want to see those against Bucky’s skin,” he murmured into her ear.

            Obediently, she reached out to Bucky. She tweaked his nipple, causing his pec to jump as he moaned. Her black clad fingers traced over his torso, enjoying the ridges of muscle that she felt there. She took her time over his biceps as he pulled her closer and down into a kneel so that he could pull a nipple into his mouth. The warm heat closing over her breast caused a jolt of heat to shoot straight to her pussy. Her gasp was swallowed as Steve moved to her side and captured her lips in his. When he broke away, all Darcy could think was, “Shirt, off, now!”

            She didn’t realize she’d said it aloud until she heard two low chuckles, and Steve gestured to his chest. “Do the honors?” he said softly.

            Her black lace covered hands reached up and out, and she slowly, so slowly, began to slip the buttons from their moorings. She began from the top, and with every inch of skin she uncovered she gave it a reverent kiss. Bucky growled a little from behind them, and she felt him pull her dress down over her hips. She stopped her exploration of Steve just long enough to step out of her dress, and she grinned at the hiss from the boys. Her green and black stripped stockings were held up by an old fashioned garter belt. Darcy had a weakness for vintage looking underwear, and one of her greatest joys in the last six months was getting to stock up on good quality garter belts and corsets. The only thing that had kept her from wearing one this particular night was that she had been planning on getting good and sloshed.

            Bucky ran an appreciative hand down the curve of her ass, playing with the ruffles on her black panties. He began to kiss the globes of her buttocks at the edge of her panties as he stroked his claws up and down her inner thighs. Her legs quivered, and her pussy ached all the more. She went back to unbuttoning Steve’s shirt, and his hot eyes bored into her as she did so. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured.

            “Right back atcha, Captain,” she murmured as she kissed his chest again. She slid her hands down the front of his pants, pleased with the bulge she found there. “Quid pro quo, Clarice.”

            “Clarice?” Bucky asked, stopping his exploration of Darcy’s behind.

            She laughed while Steve shook his head. “Movie reference.”

            Bucky shrugged and went back to worshipping her ass. Meanwhile, she found the button and began to divest Steve of his pants. He stepped away from her in order to step out, and she discovered that Captain America had gone commando. “So,” she began, her voice husky with desire, “you go without underwear often, or was that the Enchantress?”

            Someone guffawed against her left butt cheek. “Oh, that’s all Steve,” Bucky replied. “Ever since we were kids.”

            Steve was blushing furiously. “Yeah, yeah.” He palmed his cock, and what a lovely cock it was! “Makes it easier to get to this doesn’t it?”

            Darcy didn’t think that needed a verbal reply, and decided to drop to her knees. Bucky made a sound of protest, but when he saw what was happening, kept his comments to himself. Darcy leaned in, and kissed the head of Steve’s cock, licking up the underside as well. He shuddered, and she kissed down the underside of his cock, her hands running up and down his legs. She hummed against the root of him when she felt him shudder some more. She heard the bed clothes rustle as Bucky stood and shucked his own pants. She looked back at him to see him reseat himself and begin to run his hand up and down his shaft. With a mischievous grin she turned back to Steve, and in one sudden movement, engulfed as much of him as she could.

            Steve shouted with pleasure, and she set to work on him alternating deep strokes with her mouth and teasing kisses and licks. After a few moments, she felt his hands grasp her hair. Bucky hummed behind them, and over the filthy sounds of her pleasuring Steve she could hear him moan. “Doll,” he murmured, “you can suck us both right off. Super soldier metabolisms are good for things other than just healing quickly.”

            “Good to know,” she said when she began teasing Steve again. He was breathing hard, his face flushed and focused on her with heavy-lidded eyes. “Because I like to swallow.”

            Steve gasped and groaned as she set to work on him. She was ruthless, wanting to taste him on her tongue so bad. Darcy used her tongue to trace around the head of his cock while her hands massaged the base and his balls. “I’m close,” he panted.

            “Good,” Bucky murmured, “Go there Steve.”

            “I’m close,” he said again, louder, more desperate. Darcy just upped the ante, never breaking her rhythm. She hummed around his cock, and he grabbed her head and bucked into her face. She felt the first spray of his ejaculation hit the inside of her cheek, and she stopped her manipulations as she let him finish in her mouth. She swallowed down, and let her lips slip from around his prick.

            “Okay, my turn,” Bucky stated, pulling Darcy up. She blinked at him, and he winked. “But I think it’s time Steve worked a little.” He pulled Steve – who was still a little dazed from his hard orgasm – in for a kiss. Darcy had thought that maybe this would be the part that would squick her out about the arrangement, but she found that instead of a turn off, this was most definitely a turn on. The two men broke the kiss, and turned to her. “I want you to sit on my face while Steve sucks me off.”

            “Then I think it’s time to pound that pussy,” Steve added, his voice low and guttural.

            “Holy God,” she murmured, but she obediently followed Bucky up onto the bed. She shucked her gloves, her panties, and her stockings. Bucky laid back, and gestured her up so that she was kneeling over his face. She was using the headboard to steady herself, and he brought her down so that she was hovering just over his face. Gently, mindful of his claws, he opened up the lips of her pussy, and she felt a broad swipe up from the bottom of her slit to her clit. He licked her like she was a lollipop a few times, and hummed. She glanced over her shoulder to see Steve going down on Bucky hard.

            That only seemed to spur Bucky on. Her empty pussy was filled with his fingers, first one then two, as his tongue began to trace designs on her clit. She felt his fingers meet less and less resistance as her passage grew wetter and wetter and more ready to take one of them inside. Her orgasm began to crest, and she felt her toes curl. Then he curled his fingers a certain way and began to stroke her spot – and Darcy exploded. She keened as her body shook and shuddered. Bucky stopped, and she heard him groan his own release. Darcy just knelt a breathed deeply, her body tingling and coming down from the high of a nice little orgasm.

            Big hands wrapped around her waist, and pulled her up and off of Bucky. She found herself deposited on the bed beside Bucky. Steve was looking at her with predatory intent, and she was pleased to note that Bucky had not been exaggerating. Super soldiers bounced back _fast_. “How do you want it?” Steve asked, and she needed no explanation.

            “In me,” she responded. “Now.”

            Steve didn’t need telling twice. She found herself laying on her back as he entered her in one quick snap of the hips. They both moaned at the feel. Steve was wrapped in glorious warmth while Darcy finally had the hard cock she’d been wanting all night. Their hips rolled and met, first in a slow steady rhythm designed to let the two of them revel in the sensation, and then in quicker waves. She looked up into his eyes, and he smiled at her so sweetly, before laying a gentle kiss on her forehead. She sighed, and his lips met hers. Darcy couldn’t be sure exactly how long Steve pistoned in and out of her, kissing her like she was a lifeline, but she felt that magical tension thrumming through her again. It built and built and built until she felt her toes curling again. “More,” she cried softly, “More!”

            Steve began to pound into her faster, and faster, changing his angle so that his cock hit her in all the right places. A few strokes more, and suddenly she was cumming hard, a cry of pleasure wrenched from her throat. Steve collapsed on her for a moment, until he pushed back up to his elbows. “You okay, baby?”

            She nodded. “God that was good,” she murmured.

            “And you’re not done yet,” Steve said. He pulled out gently, but didn’t seem bothered by the wet spot rapidly forming on the bed.

            Bucky scooted up, and she watched him stroke himself lazily. He reached out, and stroked down her arm. She shivered, hard, and he withdrew his hand. “I’ll give you a minute more. Feel like riding me?”

            She smiled. “Yeah.”

            He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Good.” He took a deep breath. “What is that smell on your skin?”

            She cocked her head, watching Steve gingerly walk into the bathroom. “Pumpkin spice, probably. I couldn’t resist using pumpkin spice body lotion and stuff.”

            Bucky laughed, and called out to Steve, “It’s pumpkin spice!”

            “Shoulda known!” Steve called back.

            Bucky continued to chuckle as he rolled on his back. “Come and get it when you’re ready.”

            After another minute, Darcy levered herself up, deciding that if the boys were worried about semen all over their bed clothes, she wouldn’t be concerned either. She clambered on top of him, and slid down onto his erect cock. They both groaned in pleasure. Darcy set a slow rhythm at first, rising and falling so that Bucky’s cock hit the walls of her vagina just how she liked. He didn’t try to control it at all, letting her set the pace. Instead, he put his hands up and began to play with her nipples. He rolled them and tweaked them, and every jolt went straight to her pussy. Her rhythm began to get quicker, more erratic, until he snaked a hand between them, using his thumb to rub her clit. She came hard, with a gasp. “God, Bucky,” she murmured.

            He grinned, before she felt Steve’s hands on her again. He was pulling her hips up and down, and Bucky left his thumb right there so that with each rise and fall, she was humping against his thumb. Steve kissed her neck, and Bucky played with one nipple, and the sensations blurred together as she felt the wave cresting one last time. For an interminable length of time she let Steve fuck her up and down on Bucky’s cock while he played with a nipple and rubbed her clit. Finally, the wave fully crashed, and she cried out in pleasure as she came hard again, every muscle locking. Bucky fucked up into her once, twice, three times, and then he gave a strangled shout.

            In the aftermath, Steve took care of cleaning them up. Darcy let him, but she insisted on having the washcloth between her legs so that she could go use the bathroom. When she emerged, it was to find the boy’s up and changing the comforter. She waited while they did so, her body languid and loose. She’d been quite thoroughly fucked, thank you very much. After the comforter was changed, the boys turned it down and beckoned her back to bed. The king was a huge bed by itself, but with two huge super soldiers and a curvaceous Darcy in it, it was absolutely tiny. They were forced to cuddle close together, but none of them minded. “That was awesome,” Darcy murmured.

            “Hmm,” Steve said, nuzzling her hair, “Next time maybe you can watch me and Bucky fuck.”

            “Ooo,” she replied, “I think I would. That is, if you’re sure about this whole thing.”

            “Sure?” Bucky said with a chuckle, “We’ve been agonizing over this for almost two months now. We want everything doll. Including the pumpkin spice lotion.”

            She laughed at that. She glanced over at the hourglass, and realized that a little less than half their time had passed. She looked back at Bucky, and felt Steve give her midsection a squeeze. Bucky was pressed up against her front, and his arm was thrown over so that he could stroke Steve. “So, um, I guess you’ve got me. What’re you going to do with me?”

            “Hug you, and squeeze you, and call you Darcy,” Steve muttered, and she and Bucky laughed. They continued on like that, bantering and joking with each other for the rest of their time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fans self* Okay, maybe I still got it. (Though I'm not sure I ever had it in the first place really.)
> 
> But hopefully this lived up to expectations/wasn't horrible! Thank you all so much for the kudos and comments!


	13. Empathy (Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper's first ghost.

            While Darcy was wrangling her own pair of ghosts, Pepper found herself in a position that she had always hoped to avoid. Instead of going through the forest – Pepper had seen her own share of horror movies thank you very much – she decided to go around it. That meant going near the lab buildings, which she hadn’t even thought to be wary of. However, the proof of her folly was currently standing in her path, his bulk blocking her it.

            “Shit,” she muttered, staring into the flaming eyes of none other than the Hulk. Quickly, she thought back to everything Tony had ever told her about the Big Guy. Her mind instantly latched onto something Tony had mentioned to her once almost three years ago.

            “It’s amazing Pep,” he’d moaned while laying across their bed. “He just _lets_ Romanov mosey up to him and calm him down! Meanwhile, if any of us get near him he growls! He punches Thor every time!”

            _Think, Pep, think._ Why? Would the Hulk react to any woman like that? Why would men set him off? _Time to find out_. “Hey, Big Guy,” she said in her most soothing voice. It was the voice she used on Peter and Tony when they got mopey. “How’re you doing?”

            The angry tilt of his eyebrows lessened, and his grimace slowly left his mouth. “Good,” he said, his voice an inhuman rumble.

            “Good,” she said, her enthusiasm only slightly faked. She smiled brightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the gray figure of his ghost. She couldn’t tell who it was, but she thought maybe she had an idea. She and Betty had become good friends, and she knew being scientific geniuses wasn’t the only thing Bruce and Tony had in common. Suddenly, inspiration struck. “Do you know me? Pepper? Tony’s fiancée?”

            Hulk cocked his head, eyes curious now. “Yes,” he answered.

            She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said, adopting the tone and posture she used on new business associates. It seemed to work as Hulk gingerly used a finger to shake her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

            “You . . . Don’t think I’m Bruce?”

            The full, grammatically correct sentence caught her a little off guard, but the sharp businesswoman in Pepper was too savvy to be totally surprised. “No. You’re your own person. Maybe a little angrier than most people would like, but you are you.”

            Hulk blinked his eyes and then slowly, gently, reached out to touch Pepper’s face. She allowed the intimate touch, sensing that this was what he needed. Empathy, she thought, was the key to being good at wheeling and dealing, and that empathy served her now. Another hand came into her field of vision, and though she didn’t recognize the man, she still smiled at him. The ghost laid his hand on her wrist. He didn’t say a word, but she knew that he was grateful. She looked back up at the Hulk, and then felt a heavy weight on her wrist. When she looked back down, the ghost was gone, and a chunky bangle rested on her wrist.

            “Thanks.”

            Pepper smiled. “Glad to see you back Bruce.”

            Bruce Banner stood before her in a green shirt and purple pants, his glasses perched on his nose. “I, uh, have no idea what’s going on right now.”

            Pepper laughed, and proceeded to tell him all about their crazy night, including the fact that Fury was a raging lunatic and Steve a vampire. “So Steve basically sexually assaulted Darcy and ran off with her? And you thought it was a good idea to go off after them alone?” he asked incredulously. She was so glad that he wasn’t going to dwell on the whole we’re-currently-stuck-in-a-spell part.

            “I wouldn’t call it a sexual assault. Just . . . I have the feeling that Steve would like to eat her in other ways.” She decided to never tell Bruce how much she enjoyed sharing TMI with him. His face did interesting things when he was embarrassed and disgusted at the same time.

            Then his face smoothed out. “Well, it’s not like we already didn’t know that Steve and Bucky had a thing for Darcy.”

            “And Bucky?” Pepper asked. “Steve, everyone knows about. But Bucky?”

            Bruce gave her a look, and a sad smile. “Well, I think me and Natasha are really the only ones who suspect, and maybe Clint, Fury, and Hill, but you know, none of us feel the need to share. Spies and reclusive scientists and all that . . . But I watch Bucky sometimes. He’s really careful not to show it around other people, but he watches her a lot. And there’s this look in his eye.”

            Pepper nodded, suddenly scouring her brain for anything she might have seen herself. “But how would that wash with Steve being interested?”

            She received a droll look. “I guess me and the super secret spies are also the only ones who realize that Steve and Bucky have been in love with each other since 1940, too.”

            “ _What_?!” Pepper nearly shrieked. “Shut up!”

            Bruce laughed, beginning to stroll down the path towards Steve’s house. “Come on Pepper! You ever think about how touchy-feely they are with each other?”

            “I live with Tony Stark,” Pepper replied flatly.

            He turned back to her and nodded with an agreeing frown. “True. But beyond the Tony touchy-feelies. You’ve never noticed how they . . . orbit? Kinda in the same way that Natasha orbits Sam or Vision orbits Wanda?”

            She stopped and thought about that, and found herself seeing exactly what Bruce was talking about. “Holy crap,” she muttered. “So, do you think they want to include Darcy in their, um, thing?”

            Another droll look. “Oh yeah. Yeah they do.”

            “Okay,” she said skeptically, “how do you know?”

            “Walked in on them talking about it once.”

            “No way!”

            “Way.” He laughed. “You should’ve seen Steve’s face. I let them think I hadn’t heard a thing, but I totally did.”

            Pepper laughed, and the two of them amicably walked down the concrete path from the labs around towards Steve’s house. “Pepper,” Bruce said upon hearing a shrill cry in the night and the answering howl of another creature, “what do you think’s happened to the others? I don’t see anyone else, and the Compound was crawling with people.”

            She shrugged. “I don’t think we’re . . .” She trailed off when she peered into the pond outside of the labs. The party had taken over the conference side of the main building, as well as the bottom floors of the lab wing and the sculpted gardens that ran between the two buildings. Hill’s house was situated beside the garden, but had a little lawn and gate between it and the main gardens. Looking down into the water, she didn’t see her reflection, she saw two of the janitors, whose names she unfortunately didn’t know, laughing and giggling with drinks in hand. “I don’t think we’re in the same reality anymore.”

            Another howl in the night sounded closer than before. Bruce looked into the trees that bordered the other side of the gardens, leading out into the miles of jogging trails. He held out a hand to Pepper. “Come on, we need to find Darcy.”

            She took his hand, grateful for the warm feeling of another human being in this nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not gonna lie, I had a plan up until last chapter, and then it completely changed once I fully wrote that chapter! So now I'm kinda trying to work out what will happen when and with who, so I may not be able to post tomorrow. I may have to prep a little during tomorrow's writing session to figure out the particulars of the rest of the story. 
> 
> But thank you all for your lovely comments and kudos!


	14. BFFs (Costume)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Synesthesia and the Fraternal Organization for the Best Friends of Idiot Superheroes.

Pepper nearly cheered when she finally saw Darcy again. They both squealed and ran to give each other a hug, even though before this night they had barely spoken to one another. Being trapped together in a spell world could do that. “Oh my God, I’m glad you’re okay!” Pepper cried.

            “Yeah, right back at cha!” Darcy replied, her voice cheery in the darkest night.

            Steve and Bucky nodded to Bruce, who returned the gesture with a smile. “Hey,” Bucky said, “Why does Bruce get to be normal?”

            “Normal?” Pepper asked.

            Bucky held up his clawed hands, and both he and Steve gave her huge smiles that showed all of their very sharp teeth. Pepper gasped, but Bruce furrowed his brow. “That is a good question. I take it Darcy captured your ghosts?”

            “Yeah.”

            Bruce glanced over at Pepper. “That’s funny, because as soon as Pepper captured my ghost, I returned to normal.”

            “I may have something to do with that.”

            The little group turned to face the woman standing behind them. “Oh, you again,” Bucky growled.

            The Enchantress cocked a brow at him. “So ungrateful. Didn’t you just enjoy yourselves?”

            Darcy, Steve, and Bucky were blushing furiously. Pepper’s eyes popped wide while Bruce shook his head with a small smile. “Darcy!” she squealed again. “Bravo! I approve of super soldier threesomes.”

            Darcy laughed at her. “You’re in a relationship!”

            “Hello, engaged, not dead.” That caused a shout of laughter from the Enchantress as well. The men seemed a little miffed at the conversation, except for Bruce who seemed more amused than anything.

            Steve huffed. “So, what have you done now?”

            The Enchantress strode forward, and circled Steve. The skirts of her dress curled around his legs. “Well, it is Halloween. Costumes are in order.”

            “So what’s mine?” Bruce asked. He gestured down at his plain clothes.

            The Enchantress blinked at him, slowly. “You are wearing your costume. You’re Dr. Jekyll.”

            The mood soured as the five friends’ faces turned hard and angry. Darcy sighed. “Just when I was starting to like you.”

            “I told you that I can be cruel.” The Enchantress stepped away from Steve, and put her hand to her chin. “Bucky, you need the ears back.”

            She swirled her hand about, and dog ears once again adorned Bucky’s head. He scowled at her, but she only smiled at him. “Darling heart, the ears complete your costume.”

            Then, she was gone.

            “I really hate that woman,” Pepper muttered.

            Darcy nodded, and pointed back to the woods. “Okay, we need to get back on track. We’ve got ten more ghosts to go.”

            “And you want to start in the woods?” Bruce asked skeptically.

            “Between Steve and I, we should be able to take Maria,” Bucky said.

            “Maria?” Pepper asked.

            “Hellhound Hill,” Darcy replied. Pepper gave the best “hunh?” look Darcy had ever seen, but ultimately didn’t comment.

            “I dunno,” Bruce replied, “We heard a couple different howls coming from the woods. Maria can’t be the only one out in the woods.”

            Darcy was about to pipe up, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Quickly, she turned and promptly screamed her head off. She jumped backwards, not caring who it was that caught her. She just needed someone to do so. If there was one thing Darcy couldn’t stand, it was floating red eyes, and there in the forest floated two red eyes.

            “Holy shit!” she cried, causing everyone to look to where she was suddenly pointing.  Steve and Bucky pulled her and Pepper behind them, while Bruce took a step away from them. He was looking decidedly green. Darcy huddled behind Steve, holding on to his shirt while Pepper wisely stayed at Bucky’s back. They shared another look.

            “Who do you think it is?” Pepper asked softly.

            “Come out!” Bruce bellowed, his voice dipping dangerously low.

            Darcy was about to answer, when that damn _knowing_ came back. This time, her instinct led her to open her mouth and take a deep breath. She did it again, and realized that she wasn’t hallucinating.

            Gingerbread and whipped cream. Homey, comforting, sweet. _James_.

            Gingersnaps with honey. Spicy, woodsy, sharp. _Pepper._

Mexican hot chocolate. Deceptively spicy, sweet, rich. _Steve._

            Red Hots. Painfully cinnamon, sweet, gooey. _Bruce_.

            Hot tea with honey. Comforting, warm, inviting. . . . _Sam_?

            “It’s Sam,” she said out loud. “It’s Sam.” She let go of Steve’s shirt, and stepped around him. Steve gave her a look, but the thing up in the tree hadn’t moved, so he was inclined to let her do her ghost capturing thing. Bucky relaxed a bit too.

            “How do you know?” Pepper asked, cautiously working her way around Bucky. Bruce had stopped himself from going fully green, but she could tell that he was walking a thin line.

            “I can . . . I _can taste it_.”

            The other four turned and gave her varying degrees of incredulous looks. “I know it sounds weird, but I can _taste_ who you are. And I taste that that is Sam up there.”

            “That’s really . . . weird,” Bucky said.

            Darcy ignored him in favor of approaching the tree. “Hey Sam, can you come down?”

            There was an ominous screech, and a large, bulky creature dropped from the trees. The creature was vaguely human shaped, with shaggy dark fur and huge wings. “Holy fuck, he’s the Mothman.”

            “Darcy, look,” Pepper said softly. The younger woman followed her finger, and saw a ghost standing beside the tree. The man looked to be in his early thirties with attractive features and military short hair.

            “Reilly,” Steve breathed when she described him out loud to those who couldn't see the ghosts.

            Again, the knowing pulled at Darcy. She smiled at Reilly, and then up at Sam. “I’m going to be pissed if it takes me long to get your ghost, Sam. You and I both know that you did your best for Reilly. You always do your best.”

            Sam the Mothman keened, but Reilly didn’t move. She tried another tack. “Look, if this is because you don’t think you’re a hero, you’re wrong. You save lives, Sam. You’ve always saved lives. Even before you were Falcon, even before the Avengers. Remember that. But also remember that you can’t save them all.”

            “You’re my hero,” Bucky piped up. “You had every reason to hate me, but you were the first one besides Steve to accept me. Plus, you did manage to forgive me for your car.”

            “You’re my hero too,” Pepper added. “You’ve managed to go out on a press tour with Tony and Rhodey without actually strangling them. I think you’re the only Avenger besides Vision who could do that.”

            “I don’t even think Clint and Thor could do that,” Bruce muttered.

            “Enh,” Bucky replied, “Rhodey isn’t that bad.”

            “Since when do you hang out with Rhodey?” Steve asked, his command of later 20th Century slang causing Darcy to smile.

            “Who do you think I’m hanging out with while you and Tony circle each other like cats?” Bucky snapped in reply. “Come on, Sam, you know what I’m talking about. You’re our honorary James.”

            Sam keened again, those red eyes amazingly sad. Darcy realized that she had missed something. Was Sam’s ghost his inability to save lives, or was it something else? She glanced over to see Reilly approaching Bucky. “And remember that time you got to the Compound too early for Guys Night and ended up crashing Girls Night instead? And we all told you that you were welcome to come back?”

            Bucky laughed. “You told us about that! Me and Rhodey were planning on seeing if we could get the James Society an invite since they already let one member come along.”

            “James Society?” Bruce queried.

            “The Fraternal Organization for the Best Friends of Idiot Superheroes,” Bucky intoned, “Also known as the James Society after its founding members. Sam is an honorary James because he’s a best friend of an idiot superhero.”

            Darcy was getting ready to say something, but stopped when she saw Reilly reach out a gray hand and lay it on Bucky’s wrist. Suddenly, a bangle bracelet appeared while Reilly disappeared. Bucky looked down at the jewelry, proving to Darcy that other people could see it. “Yeah man,” Sam suddenly said out of his now human throat, “I’m a James.”

            Steve and Bucky walked up and gave him hugs. “Good to have ya back,” Steve said brightly.

            “Good to be back.” Sam looked around with a smile. “Now, what the hell is going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a day late and going to be the only update for tonight. Like I said, there were some changes that had to be made, and I ended up not being able to write at all last night. I'm hoping to get caught up sometime this week. 
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and kind words!


	15. Shadows of the Soul (Shadows)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A truth is revealed.

            “So, you’re saying that this woman is trying to test Darcy and Pepper to see who can catch all these ghosts?” Sam was saying as the little group walked through the forest. “And that every so often she shows up to mess with you?”

            “Yeah,” Steve sighed. “That’s about it.”

            “And we’re walking through the forest because we think that Hill and at least one other Avenger are running around out here transformed into some sort of monster?”

            “Pretty much,” Bucky replied.

            Sam sighed, his ghillie suit shaking at the motion. His Mothman costume was actually pretty cool – in addition to the shaggy gray ghillie suit, he had red eyes and his wings. They were vaguely bird-like, but the feathers were gray and kind of fuzzy. “Man, you guys always get me into some shit.”

            “Well,” Steve said with false joviality, “I am an idiot superhero.”

            Bucky rolled his eyes, but Darcy smacked Steve on the arm. “You’re just butt hurt because it’s true.”

            “Maybe for other reasons too,” Pepper muttered. Bruce snorted.

            “Nah, we didn’t do any of that tonight,” Darcy replied, causing the men to sputter, even Bruce who had up to this point taken a good bit of pleasure out of watching Steve and Bucky squirm.

            Sam was shaking his head. “So you three finally got with the program?”

            “Did everyone know but me?” Pepper snapped.

            “Don’t worry,” Darcy said, “I didn’t really know either.”

            “Look,” Sam said, “When you hang out with two guys, you get to noticing things. You might have been subtle, but I’ve seen you both around other women. You don’t behave with Darcy like you do with anyone except each other. So, doesn’t take a genius to figure it all out.”

            Pepper threw up her hands, while Bruce chuckled. Steve pouted, Bucky snorted, and Darcy blushed. However, their comradery was cut short by a menacing growl. They all froze, but quickly Bucky and Steve took up defensive positions to either side of their group. They both had their hands curled with their claws menacingly extended. Both were snarling, their teeth an unmistakable threat. Sam stretched his wings out, and sheltered Pepper and Darcy while Bruce stood in front of them, turning green. The group stood like that for a few moments before something finally slinked from the shadows.

            It was Maria.

            The hellhound growled again, but her fur was flat against her body. Her tail was up and her ears were forward. She approached Steve first, yipping a bit at him. He didn’t relax, but he did offer a hand to her. “Is that you Maria?” he asked quietly.

            Darcy opened her mouth and inhaled deeply. Thai green curry. Sharp, intense. “Yeah,” Darcy murmured, “that’s Maria Hill.”

            The hellhound barked. “Bucky,” Sam asked, “You understand her?”

            The Winter Soldier gave Falcon the mother of all stink eyes. “You speak chicken? Because I can feed you to her like one.”

            “Boys,” Pepper called out. She reached out and patted Sam’s wings. Obediently he lowered them. She stepped around Bruce, and held out her hand to Maria as well. “Hey.”

            Maria growled again, her black fur glistening in the moonlight. Her snarl showed her teeth, but Pepper ignored it. “Hey, it’s okay,” Pepper murmured. “None of us are going to hurt you. We want to help.”

            The huge head shook, but she didn’t do anything aggressive towards Pepper. Her snarl faded, and a sad look entered her red eyes. She stepped up to the redhead, and nuzzled that outstretched hand. Darcy also stepped forward, and gave Bucky a hard look when he moved to shield her. The _knowing_ was back. “We need you, Maria,” she said. “We need your help to do this.”

            The hellhound howled, and Darcy almost didn’t see the gray hand on her right wrist. She smiled up at Ghost Coulson as he disappeared and left a thin bangle in his place. When Darcy looked over and Pepper, Maria was back in human form. Her costume consisted of a black long-sleeve Henley and black jeans. Black ears rose form her short, pixie cut hair and her eyes were red and flickered with ephemeral flames. “Thanks,” she said in a rusty voice.

            “Impressive.”

            The group looked to Darcy’s left, and the woman standing there. Bucky and Maria growled, Steve and Sam hissed, and the rumble from Bruce’s chest was like thunder. The Enchantress cocked her brow. “Unhappy to see me?”

            Pepper sighed. “It’s not like you’re our favorite person.”

            Darcy cocked her head, wondering about something. “You look . . .  different.”

            The Enchantress’s smile was brittle. “I was not expecting this, but I already have a winner for my challenge.”

            The assembled heroes all made noises of disbelief. “Who?”

            The sorceress threw her head back and laughed. “Who here has shown knowledge that she shouldn’t have?”

            Everyone except Maria turned and looked at Darcy. She blinked and pointed at herself. “Me? I, uh, don’t think so.”

            This time the Enchantress cocked a brow. “You knew who Sam was. You somehow knew that Maria needed to be needed.”

            “Yeah, but I didn’t know what Sam needed to hear.” She glanced back at him.

            “People don’t always know what they need,” the Enchantress replied, “Sometimes you will have to stumble upon their true trouble. Maria does not feel needed – why would you might heroes need her? She is a glorified paper pusher now.” Maria stiffened, her eyes blazing.

            “And Sam? Poor little lamb, our Sam. Stevie has a new friend to play with, a friend that Sam can’t compete with. And no one else wants to be Sam’s best friend. They all already have their best friends.” Sam looked away, his face troubled.

            “And Bruce? Everyone always treats him with kid gloves, as if he’s dangerous just by being. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but no matter what everyone will only see the rage inside of him.” Bruce was green again, his face morphing into a snarl.

            “Let us not forget Bucky and Steve. So wrapped up in their pasts they almost can’t see their future. They look back, and all they want is to be those Brooklyn boys again, rather than the dogs of war they are.” Bucky had paled while Steve’s face had grown hard and angry. His snarl was so prominent that Darcy could see the pink of his gums.

            Enchantress turned her eyes to Pepper and Darcy. “Your challenge was to capture their ghosts – to find out what it is that plagues them, steals their confidence, causes them pain in the shadows of their very souls. You have done that, Darcy, and an admirable job. Once you figured out the first two, you’ve advanced rapidly.”

            “But Pepper and Bucky,” Darcy said. “Pepper got Bruce and Bucky was the one who got Sam!”

            The witch laughed. “And why did Bucky even know that Sam was the Mothman? Who prompted him to speak of friendship? Who realized the root of Sam’s problem? Pepper has the ability, yes, but you are the one who has taken it furthest.”

            “Okay, so I win,” Darcy said, her chin coming up defiantly. “What’s my prize?”

            “You win, yes,” the Enchantress said, coming towards her, “but your prize is such that you must learn how to use it. And . . . I cannot reverse the spell.”

Steve gave a frustrated growl. “Then what was even the point in telling us?”  
“Because the rest of the spell must be broken using your prize, Darcy Elizabeth Lewis.” The Enchantress took a step forward. “I have grown too weak to stop the spell anyway. There is only one way forward.”

Pepper looked appalled as something occurred to her. “You were trying to choose a protégé weren’t you?”

“Yes,” the Enchantress said, her hands reaching out to Darcy. “My time has come to an end, and a new Enchantress must be chosen. You, Darcy, it is you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catching up here. And now, the plot thickens . . .


	16. Enchanter (Orange)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith tastes like marshmallow fluff.

“You’re shitting me.”

            The Enchantress cocked a brow. “I shit you not,” she replied. “You have shown the skills necessary to take my place. You have two anchors, the Sense, and the Sight. You are a potential Enchanter. Half the reason that I cannot reverse the spell is because you are already taking power from me.”

            “But I don’t want this!”

            “Neither did I!” the Enchantress replied sternly. “I had a life, young lady, just like yours, and just like you I was called to this, tested and proved.”

            “Against your will?” Steve broke in, his face a molted mask of rage.

            “No,” the Enchantress snapped, “And it’s not against Darcy’s either. The power cannot be forced upon someone. Somewhere inside you, you have wanted this Darcy. You want this power.”

            Bucky and Steve took threatening steps towards her, but Darcy help up a staying hand. She looked down at the hands held out to her, and took a deep breath. “I . . . uh, I did wonder sometimes . . . daydream really, about being able to help. Being able to take some of the pain away. Watching Jane pine over Thor, seeing Tony have an anxiety attack that one time, hearing Bucky and Steve argue. I just . . . I didn’t mean to bring all of this on.”

            “You didn’t, or at least, you weren’t the only one,” Pepper piped up. “I . . . ever since the engagement, I’ve wanted to contribute to the Avengers more. I mean, I love what I do, but . . . I would love to be able to help Tony with the Avengers since its something he’s so passionate about.”

            Darcy chewed on her lip and looked over to her two brand-spanking new boyfriends. “But what about the anchor thing? You’re talking about Bucky and Steve right?” Her voice was tight. Worried.

            “Hey,” Bucky said softly, “we’re with you no matter what.”

            “Yeah,” Steve added, “whatever this anchor thing is, we’ll do it if this is actually something you’re willing to go along with.”

            Darcy blinked at them. “You’re not going to try to convince me not to?”

            Steve cocked a brow. “Honestly? I’d feel much better if you can hold your own with the kinds of people we usually end up fighting. The people I love tend to end up being targets. Doesn’t mean I won’t stop being overly protective, but at least you’ll have some sort of defensive ability.”

            “Oh, will she,” the Enchantress murmured. “Come now, Darcy. Take my hands.”

            Darcy hesitated, her eyes flashing over the group behind her. Pepper in her policewoman’s uniform, her hair pulled into a ruthless ponytail as it had been all night. Sam with his wings half open against his back and his shaggy suit stirred gently by the breeze. Bruce in his unassuming clothing, even though it made him half look like a bad Joker cosplayer.  Maria in her all black, her dog-like ears twitching as she watched the exchange that she barely even understood. Bucky with his metal arm gleaming in the moonlight, and his clawed hands relaxed. Steve with his gentle smile and cheesy outfit. Suddenly, she let the knowing take over again, and she felt what they did.

            That’s when she learned that faith tasted like marshmallow fluff.

            She reached out and took the Enchantress’s hands. “Imagine a dress,” the Enchantress murmured softly.

A tingling feeling moved down her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She realized that this was the Enchantress’s magic, and the magic was changing her outfit. She thought of a gorgeous gown she’d seen on Tumblr not long ago, and nodded. A flash of amber and orange out of the corner of her eye made her smile. She liked the warm colors as they flowed around her, changing her clothes. Her little black dress turned into a beautiful gown. The original piece had been a pale pink, off the shoulder gown with a reversed collar with golden accents that had created a swirling pattern. She changed a few details though – the color became pale amber, and the embellishments became amber beads. She ridded her dream dress of the collar, and made it a true off the shoulder as well. The embellishments thinned out a great deal so that the skirt would have more movement, and instead of whatever stiff fabric had been used, she chose a silk that would drape around her hips.

Darcy wouldn’t fully see herself in her Enchanter gown for quite some time, but to the others she was a vision. The warm colors accented her pale skin, and her hair and eyes popped against it. The off the shoulder neckline hugged her generous breasts, and the silky fabric draped from her hips in a pleasing manner. The amber beads caught the moonlight and twinkled like pale stars of orange and yellow. The Enchantress did nothing with her hair, letting it flow about her shoulders in a pleasing disarray. Pale vines of amber snaked like lace around her hands, wrists, and lower arms. There was an artlessness to it all that seemed to capture the very essence of Darcy. “This is your Enchanter gown,” the woman said. “When you need to call upon your power, your gown will adorn you.”

Darcy looked at her hands and giggled. “That’s great, but what if I’m in the middle of a fight?”

The Enchantress grinned. “Then will what you need into place.”

The young woman smiled, and closed her eyes. The amber swirls came again, but this time when they left she was wearing an amber and gold version of Steve’s old stealth suit. She’d changed nothing about the design except the colors – the silver star and stripes were now gold, and the rest of it was in two shades of amber. “Nice,” she said.

“Cool.” Maria said, the first words she’d spoken since her first thanks.

The Enchantress smiled fondly. “You must continue on, brave ones, and break the rest of my spell. I am rapidly loosing power – I’m afraid that I will only be able to appear to you one more time, and that must be at your journey’s end. Happy hunting.”

“Wait, can you at least get us out of these costumes?” Sam asked.

The Enchantress glanced at Darcy, who answered with a grin. “No, Sam, I cannot.” Then, she was gone.

“So,” Maria asked finally, “what the hell is going on?”

“That’s what I said,” Sam muttered with a rustle of his wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's Enchanter gown is based off of this gown. 
> 
>  
> 
> [Original gown](http://www.rami-kadi.com/Collections/gallery/41/le-bal-enchant%C3%A9-2016?image=6)
> 
> And now we're all caught up! I hope you guys enjoyed the little twist here! :) Thank you for all the comments and kudos!


	17. Mutations (Goosebumps)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew figures out who they're missing, and something rather not nice.

            Maria took the news that she was trapped in a spell world with the rest of the Avengers pretty well. When she found out that Fury was tied up in her bedroom, she sighed. “At least he’s out of trouble.”

            “I tied him up pretty securely,” Pepper said. “He should still be there.”

            “We can pick him up and capture his ghost when we get to the other side of the forest,” Steve said, taking command as he was used to. No one argued against him, all of them falling into their old routine. Maria had taken command of SHIELD, but SHIELD had become an intelligence gathering and small operations organization. She did not run field ops, and the Avengers was a separate entity from SHIELD anyway, so, she didn’t even try to contest Steve’s unspoken assumption of command. The only wild cards were Darcy and Pepper, and both of them were intelligent enough to let Steve do his thing.

            The little group was moving down the path again. Steve, Darcy, and Bucky had taken the lead, with Darcy’s arms looped through the two men’s own. Pepper and Bruce were next, Pepper holding Bruce’s hand with a death grip. She was still a bit nervous since now she was the only person in the group who didn’t have any offensive abilities other than her sterling personality and a bit of martial arts training. Maria and Sam brought up the rear, but they only companionably walked side by side.

            “We have at least two Avengers out here,” Bruce said, “But I might have been hearing Maria and Sam.”

            Pepper shook her head. “No, Sam’s cries didn’t sound like that first cry we heard. There’s at least one more out here.”

            “Which Avengers are we missing?” Bucky asked.

            “Okay, the Avengers in residence were you, Steve, Bruce, Sam, Wanda, Rhodey, Vision, Natasha, Clint, Peter, and Tony. T’Challa was visiting,” Maria answered, “But that’s only twelve. And you said Fury and I were here.”

            “You and Fury _are_ Avengers.” Steve gave her a grin. “So that’s actually fourteen.”

            “But we were told only about thirteen ghosts,” Pepper piped up.

            Darcy opened her mouth to say something, but the knowing came back. “Vision.”

“What about Vision?” Steve asked.

            “He doesn’t have a ghost,” Darcy replied. “Vision is – he’s kinda like a kid, you know? He doesn’t have any regrets yet. I mean, I know he feels bad about hurting Wanda and Rhodey during the, uh, Civil War incident, but that’s more like a five year-old realizing that other people feel pain. He’s too innocent to really have a ghost.”

            “He nearly killed Rhodey,” Sam said tightly.

            Darcy bit her lip. “I know, but Vision doesn’t have a really well developed sense of _death_. He knows it’s bad intellectually, but he doesn’t have a concept of it _emotionally_. Like I said, he’s like a little kid. So yeah, he doesn’t have any regrets really. Not enough to make a ghost at least.”

            Steve nodded, and pointed up the path. “So, we know that we have at least one other Avenger out here, and it looks like we’re missing Tony, T’Challa, Peter, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, and Rhodey.”

            “And each creature is something important either to or about the person,” Darcy added. “Your, uh, costumes, weren’t chosen at random.”

            The others all shared looks of unease. “So, maybe now we know what to expect,” Bucky said, his voice quiet but a little strained. “Because if T’Challa isn’t a cat thing, I’m going to be, uh, hella?” He glanced at Darcy who nodded with a smile. “Hella surprised.”

            “I would lay good money on Peter being a spider,” Sam added. He chuckled. “Natasha could be too, but she’d probably be a ballerina.” He didn’t notice the speculative looks passed around in front of him.

            “Tony and Rhodey are harder though,” Steve murmured. “I mean, I don’t even _know_ what Rhodey’s ghost could be.”

            “Tony’s ghost would be Howard,” Pepper said solemnly. The group fell quiet for a moment. That was when Steve noticed something just to his right. He stopped, and held up a clenched fist. Bruce immediately stopped, and pulled Pepper back behind him. Sam and Maria deployed, coming in to shield Bruce and Pep. Darcy hung back, deciding that she probably shouldn’t be the first line of defense until she knew just what powers she was actually packing. Bucky flanked Steve, and stood just a foot behind him so that he could also cover Darcy.

            They all heard the rustling in the bushes, and then the sound stopped. Darcy took a deep breath, pulling air into her mouth over her palate like a serpent would to scent the air. The taste of sweet potato casserole hit her taste buds, slightly sweet and warm and solid. “It’s T’Challa.”

            “I don’t see anything,” Sam murmured.

            Gooseflesh raised up and down Darcy’s arms as she felt fear begin to spread through her. She licked her lips nervously when she realized that not all of the fear she was feeling was her own. “Something’s changed,” she whispered. “Something about the spell.”

            From the moment she’d first found herself dressed in her Enchanter’s gown, she’d been able to feel the spell. It was like a warm blanket sitting just above her skin, close enough to feel but far enough away to not be stifled by. However, something was mutating, and she realized that it was like the blanket was unraveling. She knew that it was only about half past nine, so it wasn’t the time limit. She mentally reached out, and touched the fabric of the spell. She physically recoiled though, with a cry of fear. Steve and Bucky tensed again, eyes turning red and angry as they swung around to take care of any challenger. Maria and Sam stayed facing the forest, but they glanced back quickly to assess the threat. Bruce and Pepper moved before they even thought.

            Darcy held up a hand, her face pale and her breathing ragged. “We’ve got a problem. A big one. Without the Enchantress to guide it, the spell is mutating.”

            “Are you kidding me?” Bruce muttered.

            “No, I kid you not,” Darcy said sternly, “The spell is changing. However the hell she designed the spell, the Enchantress did a shit job. It’s being strained by the number of players in the game. There’s just too many of us, and that means that the rest of our job is being made easier as we capture more ghosts. The spell was created to be a challenge, so the spell is trying to compensate and continue being challenging.”

            “Meaning what?” Pepper asked.

            Darcy turned stark eyes on her. “Meaning that that whole thing about not dying? Yeah, that’s out the window.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for again getting behind! Life has been hectic and disastrous here lately, so I couldn't help it. I was trying to get tonight's chapter up too, but unfortunately, I'm trying to fall asleep hunched over my lap top right now. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the comments and kudos. Hopefully we get back on track tomorrow.


	18. Good Man (Black Cat)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T'Challa is totally a cat-thing.

            “So, you’re saying that if one the last ones attacks us, we run the risk of death,” Steve asked. He ran a hand through his hair. “Fantastic.” He enunciated each syllable with irritated finality.

            The others shared glances. “So,” Bucky said, “Now we need to be extra careful –“

            He never got to finish his sentence.

            A huge black shape exploded from the tree line, bowling him over as it went for his neck. Bucky rolled with the hit, managing to dislodge the thing from his back, and slinging it to the other side of the path. It needed only a second to recover, and sprang back at Bucky. Steve was there first though, and managed to body slam the thing away from the group. It rose to its feet, and Darcy gasped.

            She knew it was T’Challa, but _thing_ was too apt a description. He was a hulking creature, cat-like, but with a short muzzle that made him look like a short-nosed Persian cat. Whiskers sprouted from brow and cheek, and the ears were triangular flags filled with tufted fur. The body was muscular and along the lines of a big cat, but the limbs were far too long, and the hands and feet were human-like. The tail lashed back and forth angrily, and it was long and sinuous. Saliva dripped from his maw, thick and ropey, and Darcy felt her stomach roil. “Oh God,” she murmured.

            Bucky and Maria barked in warning, the canine instincts inherent in their costumes overtaking their human sense. T’Challa growled back, opened his jaws to show off his wicked looking teeth. Teeth already stained brown. “Shit,” Bucky muttered.

            The knowing came again. “He’s going to keep attacking Bucky.”

            “I got that part,” Bucky muttered. “Looks like he still has a hard on for me.”

            “But why? He knows you didn’t actually kill his father,” Sam said, his eyes boring into the snarling beast.

            “Doesn’t matter,” Maria added. “The ghost is riding him, like Darcy said. He’s focused on Bucky, we need to make sure that T’Challa doesn’t get the chance to hurt him.”

            Pepper cried out, “Look!”

            T’Challa was still keeping his distance, circling like the dangerous creature he was, but a flash of gray led Darcy’s eyes to the trees. “It’s King T’Chaka,” she said. “Let me get close and see if I can talk to him.”

            Steve reached out, and caught her arm before she could move. “You sure this is a good idea?” he asked in a low tone.

            “I can’t sense anything,” she replied. “Maybe . . . Ghost Coulson was able to talk to me about Maria. Maybe King T’Chaka can do the same for T’Challa.”

            “But the ghosts aren’t actual ghosts,” Bucky added. His eyes were locked on T’Challa though.

            “Yes, but our subconscious knows a lot. It’s worth a try.” She gently disengaged Steve’s hand, and quickly but cautiously made her way towards the ghost. T’Challa sprang, but not at her. Instead, he tried once more to gain the upper hand with Bucky, only to fail when both Steve and Maria launched themselves at him. A hissing vampire and an enraged hellhound were no pushovers. Darcy managed to reach King T’Chaka while the others kept his erstwhile son busy. “Your Majesty,” she said, remembering her manners and protocol.

            “ _Hello, child,_ ” the ghostly king replied. “ _Are you here to save my son?_ ”

            She nodded. He sighed. “ _My son is a good man._ ”

            She nodded again, wondering where he was going with that. He didn’t say anything more, and as she waited she realized that the battle raging behind her sounded heated. T’Challa was growling and snarling while the others were snarling and growling right back. After a few moments, she realized that King T’Chaka had already said what he wanted to say. She smiled, and turned back to the thing currently engaged in a rather complicated dance of death with Maria. The woman was expertly avoiding its claws, but she was tiring. One misstep had her tumbling to the ground while the creature pounced.

            “A good man,” she murmured, trying to see if the words would trigger the knowing. So far, it had only appeared in times of dire need. Maybe if she repeated those words, the knowing would come back. However, after a couple of moments, she realized that this as not the case. “Shit,” she muttered, glancing back at the brewing battle.

            T’Challa was hissing and snarling, lashing out with a fore limb every so often at Bucky. The cute little dog ears that Darcy had silently asked the Enchantress to keep on Bucky were laid back against his skull, and Maria’s were the same from where Sam was sheltering her on the ground. In a sense, Bucky’s face was more terrible than T’Challa’s was – the Wakandan king was fully immersed in the guise of a monster, but Bucky was more human than that. Steve’s eyes blazed across the path. As she watched, he lunged at Bucky again. “A good man,” she said as she watched Bucky land a vicious punch to T’Challa’s face. “A good man. Why Bucky? What’s Bucky done to you now?”

            Bucky had been framed for T’Chaka’s murder, but T’Challa knew that. He had sheltered Bucky and helped deprogram him. He had done way more than he really needed to to help . . . “Bucky is proof that you’re a good man, T’Challa,” Darcy cried out, “Why are you attacking him?!”

            The beast that was the Wakandan King turned to her, saliva flying. Steve and Bucky had been thrown back by a powerful kick, and the black thing launched itself at her. For a moment, Darcy froze, unsure what to do. How the fuck was she supposed to fight something coming for her like this? Steve and Bucky were already up, roaring their displeasure at any threat to their mate, and Bruce was rapidly turning green in reaction to her plight. The Hulk burst forth, roaring in hatred. In the last millisecond before T’Challa made contact, Darcy remembered that her newfound power was connected to her _will_.

            “NO!”

            T’Challa slammed into the ground, unable to move. His face twitched and rippled, his snarls loud and angry. “You’re a good man, T’Challa! You helped Bucky! You’ve helped us!”

            “ _A good king cannot be a good man._ ”

            Darcy threw a disgusted look at the ghost before continuing. “You can be a good man and a good king. No, you won’t be able to save the entire world, you’ve got to be a little selfish, but a good man takes care of his responsibilities, his family! Sometimes taking care of your family might mean something not so great for others. Doesn’t make you any less of a good man!”

            The others had approached, except for Hulk who was busy trying to calm down, and Maria laid a hand on T’Challa’s cheek. “And even if you have to do some things that aren’t good, taking care of your family should always come first. No one would blame you for it. It’s okay. We will always think you are a good man.”

            “You’ll always have our respect,” Steve added, “and gratitude.” He gestured to Bucky with his head.

            Darcy watched King T’Chaka lay his hand on Maria’s neck. He left a brilliant necklace not dissimilar to the one around T’Challa’s neck in his wake. Beneath Maria’s hand, T’Challa finally opened more human eyes. Darcy felt the spell ripple, and grimaced. “Welcome to the insanity, Your Majesty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catching up to where we should be!


	19. Weird (Broomstick)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gang discusses all the many ways things can be weird. 
> 
> Then, Wanda.

They decided to take a breather after the battle. Darcy couldn’t argue since part of the reason was for everyone to lick their wounds. She just wished that when she decided to allow the Enchantress to leave the “costumes” in place that she had considered Steve’s a little better, because he was licking his and Bucky’s wounds _literally_. She thought he might have tried to do the same to Maria’s if it hadn’t been for the look of absolute death she was throwing his way every time he glanced wistfully over at the deep gash on her upper arm. Sam was giving Steve the side eye simply because he didn’t want to get between a hangry vampire and lunch.

            For his part, Bucky didn’t seem to mind much. He allowed Steve to do so, on the condition that he was the one that got to cuddle Darcy. She didn’t much mind it, and when Steve was done with his macabre dining/grooming routine, he settled in beside Bucky. Darcy had been pulled into Bucky’s lap, her bottom snug to his thighs and waist, so Steve pulled her legs into his. He leaned against Bucky, who didn’t seem to mind the weight. Darcy watched the two of them with a small smile. Bucky had not been severely injured, but T’Challa had caught him across the face at least once, and had opened up a deep gash along his clavicle. Bucky was still shirtless, but thankfully Steve had taken it upon himself to clean Bucky’s chest first. That had also been accomplished while the others were concerned with T’Challa, so only poor Sam had been scarred for life by the sight.

            Darcy let her head fall on Bucky’s chest with a sigh. His skin was warm, smooth, and she could hear the strong, steady beat of his heart. Her hands stayed in her lap, and Steve turned over so that he could curl up against Bucky and take her hand. Steve’s hand was strong and warm in hers. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth and companionship they were offering her.

            Sam grinned at them as he hunkered down on the other side of Steve. His wings kept him from reclining against a tree comfortably, so he laid down on his stomach, his head pillowed on his arms at Steve’s feet. He spread his wings, and Darcy smiled a bit when she felt the downy softness of his feathers against her legs. Maria settled down next to T’Challa, both of them settling against a large tree on the other side of the path. Bruce sat with his head in his hands while Pepper sat next to him, rubbing soothing circles into his back.  

            “This is the weirdest damn day ever,” Sam muttered, but in the quiet his voice carried.

            “I can’t argue with that,” Steve replied. His eyes opened and he smiled down at Darcy, who’d opened her own eyes at his voice. Bucky’s chest vibrated beneath her cheek as he rumbled a laugh.

            “Not mine,” Bucky muttered. “Mine was the day I remembered that I liked plums.”

            “What?” Maria asked, her voice the perfect match to T’Challa’s raised eyebrow.

            “Seriously,” he said, “I was in Virginia, outskirts of Richmond I think. I was walking through an open air market, and you know, just existing. Still had very little idea who I was. I mean, I had all the information about myself _that I knew for a fact_ , just all the things people had mentioned to me, the Smithsonian exhibit, what-have-you. But there I was in the market, and I look down, and this voice in my head goes _I like plums_. It was the first damn thing I remembered about myself, really. Everything else was memories that I’d rather forget.”

            Darcy felt her heart squeeze. Steve looked pained. “How was that weirder than this?” Bruce asked.

            “That day, I had no identity. I was . . . nothing. The Asset. I had a mission. I did it. I went back to my handler. That was it. There were no likes or dislikes, no preferences that made me an actual human being. And then . . . there was. I had something I _liked_. I ended up buying something like twenty pounds of plums, and then ate all of them that day.” He chaffed Darcy’s arm and gave her a grin. “First time in seventy years that I was sick. Still love plums though.”

            The others chuckled, and Darcy found herself able to smile. “And here is less weird because?”

            “Because this entire time I’ve been _Bucky_. Even with my ghost riding me, I was Bucky. I had an identity. I had likes and dislikes, and things about myself that I knew. Nothing will ever be weirder to me than that feeling that day of going from _nothing_ into _something_.”

            Maria nodded. “Well, this is still my weirdest day, but the runner up was the time Coulson and I had to be fake married for an op.”

            “How was that weird?” Pepper asked. “Honestly, Coulson seems like husband material more than Tony most days.”

            “Because our intel had been screwed up,” Maria answered with humor coloring her tone, “We didn’t know that the party the Coulsons had been invited to was a swinger’s shindig.”

            Pepper and Bruce burst out laughing, while Sam’s wings shook against Darcy’s legs with the force of his mirth. Maria was smiling, and T’Challa looked a little confused. When Darcy stopped giggling long enough to glance up, Steve looked perplexed too. “What is a . . . swinger’s shindig?” T’Challa asked carefully.

            “Yeah,” Steve added, putting his head up. “I’ve never heard of that.”

            The others shared looks, causing Darcy to let loose another chuckle. Apparently, neither Bruce, Pepper, Maria, nor Sam wanted to be the ones to sully the King of Wakanda or Captain America with something as filthy as the definition of a word. “Swingers are people in a committed relationship who seek sexual partners outside of that relationship, usually as a couple. The party Maria is talking about is a place where swingers can get together to find those partners.”

            “So, are we swingers?” Bucky asked softly.

            “No,” Darcy whispered back, “we’re polyamorous. That’s different.”

            “Oh, okay.”

            T’Challa also reacted rather nonchalantly to the reveal. “Ah. So, why was that weird?”

            “You’ve never met Coulson have you?” Bruce asked, and the king shook his head.

            Pepper guffawed. “Phil is rather . . . straight-laced. I think most of us couldn’t fathom him even having sex in the first place, much less engaging in a kink like that.”

            Before she could interject, Darcy found herself looking up at the sky. Something was moving around up there. “Steve, Bucky, look.” She pointed to the object.

            The others looked up with her. T’Challa was the one to finally get an idea. “It is a woman,” he said. His costume now consisted of cat-like yellow eyes, cat ears, whiskers, and a tail.  “She is riding something.”

            Then, the object flew in front of the full moon, and Darcy felt like simultaneously screeching and slapping her forehead. It was a woman, wearing a pointy hat, on a broomstick.

            “Ten bucks and a blowjob says that’s Wanda,” Bucky said.

            “Not even going to bet against you,” Steve replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we are caught up again! Whew! This chapter was just pure fun to write, as I got to trot out more of my macabre humor and add in a dose of fluff. Also, I head canon so hard that Steve and Bucky have absolutely filthy mouths when it's just the two of them - my hubby is former military and they have the most creative, inventive curses and phrases I have ever heard.
> 
> Thank you for all of the wonderful comments and kudos!


	20. Wicked Witch (Banshee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda is more than just a witch, though.

The woman on the broomstick made a hard turn, and swooped down towards the little group. A loud cackle sounded over their heads as pumpkins rained down from the sky. “Shit, duck!” Sam cried.

            Everyone scattered, and Darcy felt herself being rolled with Bucky as he threw himself backwards under the tree canopy. A rather large pumpkin exploded right where they had been sitting, and Darcy was grateful for Bucky’s quick reflexes. Without them, they would both probably be severely injured. Steve had grabbed Sam by the back of his collar and pulled him out of harms way. Bruce and Pepper had been the most exposed out in the middle of the path, but Bruce was almost unexpectedly fast as he pulled Pepper up and dragged her into the trees too. Maria and T’Challa had ducked into the forest on the other side of the path.

            “Shit,” Bucky muttered.

            A shrill, blood curdling shriek ripped through the air. “I swear if she starts calling us her pretties,” Steve muttered, “I just can’t. I can’t.”

            Darcy looked at him with a cocked brow. Bucky chuckled darkly while Sam, Bruce, and Pepper gave Cap a curious look apiece. Steve shook his head and sighed. “I had nightmares about the Wicked Witch of the West. She reminded me of my first grade teacher. I was terrified of that woman.”

            “Miss Kirkpatrick,” Bucky supplied, “She hated Steve.”

            “The feeling was mutual,” Steve muttered.

            The sound of splattering produce ripped through the air as the witch made another pass. This time though, the broomstick hovered over the path. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” the woman sing-songed. The voice had a distinctive Eastern European flavor.

            “You owe me a blowjob,” Bucky muttered.

            “I never took your bet,” Steve replied self-righteously.

            “Ladies!” Darcy snapped, “You’ll both get blowjobs! Now shut up!”

            Finally, after running around with them for over forty-five minutes, Pepper and Bruce didn’t react. Sam, well, poor Sam choked. Darcy ignored him, instead choosing to focus on the woman hovering on the path. She couldn’t see her ghost. “Her ghost has to be Pietro. Do you see him?”

            Bucky rumbled a growl, and Steve’s eyes became sharper, more predatory. “No.”

            Across the path, T’Challa emerged cautiously from the trees. He and Wanda had struck up a friendship bonding over the strangeness of Americans. Natasha didn’t count – her chameleon ways meant that she easily assimilated to any culture she was in. The two of them had even shared companionable drinks discussing the American love of Halloween. “Wanda,” he called softly, his tail lashing behind him.

            Wanda was dressed in a black, Victorian style dress, with old timey lace-up boots and horizontal striped stockings showing. Her skin was tinted green and her dress was a dark red. Her hair tumbled down her back in a red to orange to yellow ombre that looked like fire. Instead of answering T’Challa, she opened her mouth. The sound that she let loose was the most grating, awful, terrible, horrible, deathly shriek Darcy had ever had the misfortune of hearing. It was a thousand out of tune violins playing together. It was the death screams of rabbits and sheep and horses. It was the visceral animalistic death rattle of the whole world.

            Something tugged at Darcy, and she looked to Steve. His skin had paled to translucent, and had a damp patina of sweat. His pupils had contracted to pin points of complete terror, and his breathing was shallow and rapid. “ _Bean sí_ ,” he whispered, his voice taking on a lilt she’d never heard from him before. It was musical and would have been beautiful if not for the tremble of fear. _“Bean sí_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Bean sí_ or Banshee are the famous wailing spirits of Irish folklore. It is said that if you hear their screams, someone is about to die. Some legends say that they used to be women who worked as professional mourners that were cursed to do so for all eternity. The great families of Eire were supposed to have a family banshee who would predict the deaths of their loved ones. 
> 
> Also, I like to think that Steve is fluent in Irish because of his mother, but doesn't speak it much because of nativism still being a thing. Also, his mother would have totally told him stories of Eire, so he'd be a fount of old Irish folklore. (And maybe there might be a story where his Irish grandparents are convinced that Steve is a changling because of his ill health. Irish folklore can get pretty wild.)
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos!


	21. Fight or Flight (Nightmare)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve faces his worst nightmare.

_"Bean sí.”_

“What?” Darcy asked, the word sounding familiar but at the same time foreign. The others were giving him a look as well.

            “ _A Mhaighdean bheannaithe_!” he replied. He looked like a wild animal about to bolt. Darcy had no idea what he was saying, but suddenly the dam broke. He was speaking rapidly in a musical language that Darcy had never heard before. Based on the looks on the others’ faces, neither had they. As if she heard him, Wanda turned towards him, her face breaking into a maniacal grin.

            “ _Shteeeee-fawwwwwwwn._ ” Her voice was a serpentine hiss. “ _Shtee-fawn_.”

            The unfamiliar language came faster, more panicked, but fortunately, Steve didn’t run. He was all fight. He exploded from the trees, but instead of being cowed, Wanda shrieked again. Everyone including Steve covered their ears and hunkered down on the ground. Darcy shut her eyes, trying desparately to reach out for the knowing, for some clue as to what to do. Steve was honest to God _terrified_ and in his panic might actually hurt Wanda. Then he’d feel awful – Wanda was his surrogate little sister.

            “ _He’s afraid of me too._ ”

            Darcy snapped her head up, finding Wanda kneeling in front of her. She’d been so sure that Wanda’s ghost would have been Pietro, but apparently she was wrong. The melancholic young Sokovian looked at her with sad eyes. “ _He’s so afraid. He wasn’t before. I thought he’d never be afraid of me._ ”

            Biting her lip was the only response Darcy could make. “I don’t know why”,” she murmured. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bucky give her a look.

            “I think,” he began, “I think I know what’s going on. Steve’s mom used to tell him stories of the Old Country. I think Wanda isn’t a witch. I think she’s something called a . . . band-she?”

            Thinking back to the first words Steve had said, something clicked in Darcy’s head. “Banshee! Wanda’s a Banshee!”

            “ _Stiof_ _á_ _n_ ,” the real Wanda called again.

            “By why is Steve freaking out?” Sam asked. All eyes turned back to the strange battle taking place on the path. Wanda was lobbing pumpkins at Steve, who was catching them mid-air and lobbing them right back. He had to be terrified, but even now he was every bit the rabid honey badger Darcy had named him earlier – he fought when he was scared. Fought, and fought, and fought.

            Bucky grimaced. “He was terrified of those things. He only mentioned em a couple of times though. I only remembered because he said the word. It was why he was scared of Miss Kirkpatrick and the Wicked Witch.”

            “A phobia,” Bruce murmured.

            “And she’s pronouncing his name like Mrs. Rogers used to,” Bucky continued.

            “But why is Wanda targeting Steve?” Pepper asked.

            “The spell,” Darcy replied. “He understands her the best.” She turned back to the ghost that still knelt in front of her. “He’s afraid of the costume you’re wearing, not you, Wanda.”

            The ghost girl blinked. “ _Everyone’s afraid of me._ ”

            “No, we’re not!” Darcy stood, and stepped out on the path. When the real Wanda turned to her, opening her mouth to let loose a screech, Darcy beat her to the punch. Her shriek wasn’t as unnerving, but it caused silence to reign over the path. Steve was staring at her like she was insane. “You don’t scare me, _bean sí!_ You can’t control how anyone feels about you, Wanda! You can only control how you react to people around you! So, what’s your next move? Shriek some more? Throw a pumpkin at me?”

            “Darcy, _mo mhuirn_ _í_ _n_ ,” Steve cried, “Get back!”

            “Nope! You can spew –“ She looked up at Banshee Wanda. “What language are you two speaking?”

            Banshee Wanda blinked, and Darcy _pushed_ with her will. “ _Gaeilge_. Irish.”

            She turned back to Steve. “You can spew Irish endearments at me later. Right now, we’ve got a job to do.”

            A breeze kicked up, and the three people on the path found themselves in a strange Mexican Standoff. Steve wanted to run and hide from his worst nightmare, but couldn’t leave Darcy. Wanda had the urge to destroy Steve, but couldn’t discount the threat of Darcy. And Darcy wanted the other two to see reason. “Like I was saying, you can’t control me, Wanda, and you shouldn’t even want to. Yeah, you have a weird power, but you know, I’m in the same boat now. You’re not alone.”

            “I’m . . . not?”

            Darcy held up her hands, and willed the energy to swirl about them. She wasn’t sure if her display would actually work, but she had to try. Fortunately, Darcy was a strong willed woman. The amber energy licked around her hands, and Wanda’s eyes went wide. “You’re not alone Wanda. You’re not alone.”

            A ghostly hand touched her right thumb, and a new ring adorned it. The ring was simple, vines with thorns and a single red gem at the center embedded in the band. Darcy lifted that hand and took the last few steps to the woman on the broomstick. Wanda reached down and took her hand. Darcy pulled her down, until Wanda’s feet hit the ground. Steve had followed, and enfolded both of them in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he murmured over and over. “I’m sorry.”

            Wanda laughed softly. “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I scared you.”

            “ _A chara_ ,” Steve said, “you don’t need to apologize.” His voice was soft.

            Darcy smiled and stepped back. Bucky approached, as did all of the others. “So,” Darcy said brightly waving her hand imperiously, “you can continue to pour on the Irish endearments now.”

            The others laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A Mhaighdean bheannaithe_ \- interjection, Sweet Mother of God!
> 
> _Stiofán_ \- Irish form of Stephen/Steven. Apparently pronounced shtee-fawn.
> 
> _mo mhuirnín_ \- term of endearment, my darling
> 
> _A chara_ \- term of endearment, friend
> 
> I don't usually use words from languages I'm not familiar with, but decided to add some for this story. I stuck to words that are also easy to use without going into syntax and stuff - I don't like using a language unless I'm reasonably sure that I'm not butchering it. 
> 
> This was originally part of yesterday's chapter, but I decided to split it off because it worked great for the "nightmare" prompt, and I wanted Wanda's episode to last two chapters. 
> 
> Again, thanks for the kudos and comments!


	22. Steve the Changeling and Other Stories (Jack'o'Lantern)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve shares some tales from Eire.

            The rest of the walk through the forest was calm. Wanda walked hand in hand with Darcy, seeming to draw comfort from the other young woman as the group took turns describing the adventure so far. Maria took great pleasure in regaling Wanda of the raging battle that took place between Team Cap and T’Challa, while Steve explained that he and Bucky had finally made their feelings known to Darcy. Wanda didn’t say anything, but the small smile that played across her lips said volumes. When all that was needed to be told was told, Darcy finally turned to Steve with the real question that was burning on her tongue. “What does ‘mo muv-een’ mean?”

            He chuckled, but oddly it was Maria who answered. “My darling,” she said. When Steve gave her a surprised look, she said something else in the musical language that Darcy was coming to love. “My grandfather on my mom’s side was Irish. He taught me to speak it when I was a kid. It was our little secret. I never said anything because I wasn’t sure if you still remembered it.”

            Steve said something back that had way too many vowels. Maria laughed, and Wanda piped up with something in Sokovian. The two looked at her and she grinned. “Well, if you two are going to speak another in a language no one else understands, then so will I!”

            The two chuckled, and Steve took Darcy’s arm. “Sorry, I don’t get to speak it much. I’m a little rusty though.” He blinked. “Though I might have had more practice if not for my grandparents.”

            “Why?” Darcy asked.

            He glanced over at Bucky who looked thunderous. “Because his grandparents back in Ireland were crazy.”

            “Not crazy,” Steve replied gently, “Your own grandma explained to us why they thought the way they did.”

            “And thinking that you were a changeling that had stolen the real Steve away isn’t crazy? For God’s sake, they told your mom to feed you foxglove and hold your feet over an open flame!” Bucky ran a hand through his hair, brushing down one of his ears. He took Steve’s other hand, and the two witches and the two super soldiers took up the entire path.

            “Foxglove?” Sam asked. “Isn’t that poisonous?”

            “Yeah, it’s used for heart conditions, but too big of a dose will kill you,” Bruce said.

            “Irish folklore can be messed up,” Maria said. “My grandfather told me about this guy who burned his wife because he swore that she was a changeling.”

            “According to the old ways,” Steve intoned, his voice taking on that lovely Irish lilt that it didn’t usually have, “changelings could be induced to flee by using a couple of methods. Holding the feet of child over the fire until the Fae left was one. The other was giving them enough foxglove to, well, poison the changeling out. My grandparents thought I was a changeling because I wasn’t thriving as a baby. They thought all of my health problems could be explained by that.”

            “Sick,” Pepper muttered.

            “Like Maria said, Irish folklore could be messed up,” Steve answered. He looked up at the moon. “Or it can be a bit of spooky fun. You know why they’re called Jack’o’Lanterns don’t you?”

            Darcy and Wanda shook their heads. Steve grinned. “Long ago, there lived a lazy blacksmith named Jack. One day, Jack managed to trick the Devil into climbing up a tree. Once up there, Jack carved crosses into the tree bark, and the Devil couldn’t come down. Jack made the Devil promise to never take his soul, and in exchange he’d let the Devil go. Many years passed, and when Jack died, the Devil kept his promise. However, Jack had been a bad man, so he couldn’t go to heaven, but the Devil refused to take his soul to Hell. When Jack said something to the Devil, he just laughed and tossed the blacksmith a burning ember from Hell. Jack took one of his beloved turnips, hollowed it out, and put the ember inside of it. Now he roams the Earth for all eternity, him and his lantern.”

            “That is creepy,” Darcy said.

            “The Jack’o’Lanterns,” T’Challa asked, “they are the carved pumpkins are they not?”

            “Yeah,” Sam answered.

            “A fitting story then,” the King of Wakanda said with a smile. “and look, we are to the end of the forest.”

            In the end, Fury’s ghost was easy to lay to rest. All Maria had to do was smile at Fury and remind him, “You’re not Atlas, the world isn’t just on your shoulders.” She received a bracelet for her gentle words to her lover.

            “Maria Hill,” Darcy intoned from her position on the stairs, “Brooding badass whisperer.”

            “You know, you don’t do such a bad job yourself,” Wanda said with a smile.

            “So, that’s eight down,” Pepper said, “and five to go.”

            “Tony, Rhodey, Clint, Peter, and Natasha.” Bruce frowned. “Where would they be?”

            The little group looked back through the open door to the main compound building. “I think our next stop is going to be a haunted house, guys.” Darcy looked back to her little group. “And we have to face a couple of our deadlier comrades. This is going to be dangerous.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lore mentioned here by Steve, Bucky, and Maria is real folklore from Ireland. And the incident mentioned by Maria where a man burned his wife because he believed her a changeling is a real incident from the 1800s. If you're interested, I highly suggest checking out the _Lore_ episode "Black Stockings." _Lore_ is an awesome podcast anyway, but that specific episode will tell you more about the incident in question. 
> 
> Also, fun fact, but a lot of our American Halloween traditions actually trickle down to us from Ireland and Scotland anyway. :)
> 
> Thanks again for all the kudos and comments!


	23. The Show Must Go On (Creepy Carnival)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Clint the Clown's Creepy Carnival.

When Darcy had been six years old she’d made the monumental mistake of thinking she could handle watching Steven King’s _It_ with her older brother one night while he watched it with friends. She’d been able to deal with _The Lost Boys_ and _Jaws_ , so why not _It_? She should have run when in the first five minutes a little girl was killed by a psychotic clown, but she was also sometimes too damn stubborn for her own good. So, instead of admitting that it was too much for her, she had watched the entire miniseries and ended up scarred for life.

            So, when Clint popped up in exaggerated facial makeup that made him look like fucking Pogo the Clown, she screamed. She screamed long and loud enough to rival Wanda’s banshee wail. She leaped backwards, went full on airborne, and managed to land in Bucky’s arms. The werewolf growled, and the others went on red alert as soon as the first sound of terror went through the air. However, unlike in the forest, they had trouble deploying as they were wont to do. Sam couldn’t flair his wings comfortably in the more restricted space of the front conference room they’d entered. T’Challa and Bruce weren’t even able to get into the door either. Clint had popped out of the set of doors that led from the press room out into the back hall, as they had entered from the front entrance.

            “Darcy!” Bucky finally barked, because her screams had gone long and loud. “Doll baby! Calm down!”

            Steve and Wanda had taken up flanking positions in front of them. Darcy focused on Wanda’s beautiful ombre hair in an attempt to distract herself from the horror of being faced now with her worst fear. “Fucking clowns!” she hissed.

            “Aw!” Clint the Clown said. “Come on Darcy! Want me to make ya a balloon animal?”

            She began to shake. Hard. She didn’t know if it was the spell, or just Clint’s normal speech patterns, but damn if he didn’t sound just like Tim Curry as Pennywise. “I swear to fucking God, Clint, if you say we all float down here, I will fucking kill you and apologize to Laura later!”

            The clown grinned, his blood red mouth makeup making him look even more demonic than before. Wanda and Steve moved forwards, and Bucky followed with Darcy still in his arms. However, he allowed the other two to approach Clint while he kept himself and Darcy at a distance. The others flowed through the doors, Fury and Hill taking up position in front of their Enchantress and the werewolf. T’Challa prowled to their side as well, while Sam and Bruce followed the vampire and banshee. Pepper stayed back in the doorway, aware that she could potentially just get in the way.

            “It’s okay, Doll baby,” Bucky murmured under his breath. “We won’t let him hurt you.”

            “Aw, I’d never hurt you Darcy!” Clint had only poked a head through the door before, but now he stepped all the way in. He wore an old fashioned clown outfit in bright purple and white. The pants ballooned out around his ankles, and the sleeves were baggy. He was even dressed like fucking Pennywise. “Would you all like to come to the carnival? The show’s about to start!”

            They all shared looks of unease, but Darcy knew that they had to go in. “Alright. What’s the show?”

            Clint grinned again. He waved them into the back hall. It was done up like an old fashioned circus tent, with stripped pavilion walls covering up the floor to ceiling windows. Raised bleachers went up the sides of the room, and a small performing area had been formed in the middle. “Have a seat!”

            “Barton, we don’t have time for this shit,” Fury snapped.

            Clint stopped his happy jogging. He didn’t say anything, but Darcy felt the knowing flare. Fury had said the wrong thing. However, Darcy was happy to see that she wasn’t the only one who had picked up on it. “Wait!” Wanda cried, “I do want to see your show!”

            In the back of her mind, Darcy felt the spell shift a little. Her eyes popped wide when she realized that the spell was trying to shift again. With Wanda there were now two empaths – because Darcy had finally accepted that that was at least partially what she had become – and the spell needed to keep up the challenge. But this time, Darcy pushed back. She willed the spell to stay the same. She felt the jewelry she’d gained from the various ghosts burning against her skin, but she kept pushing. Unhappily, the spell settled back into the configuration it was in before.

            “Come on!” Darcy said brightly, “Let’s have a show! But we can only stay a few minutes Clint. Do you mind making it a quick one?”

            “For you ladies,” Clint said with an exaggerated bow, “anything. Now come, sit! Sit!”

            They all filed in. Fury went to say something, but Darcy hushed him. “Look, trust me Nick, we have to watch this show.”

            Fury sighed heavily and plopped down on the bench seats with an ill look on his face. Hill said next to him and took his hand with a small smile. “Come on Nick,” she murmured, “Relax.”

            Bucky sat, and put Darcy down next to him. Steve sat at her other side. The two men took her hands, stroking the back of her hands with their free ones. Both of them were well aware of her dislike of clowns after a rather disastrous trip to the nearest Party City. Their big bodies were crowding hers, but instead of feeling claustrophobic, she felt safe. They were sitting on the second level, while Bruce, Sam, and Wanda sat at their feet. Pepper sat next to Bruce, and T’Challa sat next to Fury. Clint took his place in the center ring, and began his routine.

            Oddly, it was actually pretty entertaining. Clint did all the classic clown gags, but as a one man show. It was all so cheesy but charming, and he got some genuine laughs out of them. Darcy wondered at why it wasn’t creepier, and when she said as much out loud, Clint answered. “Because you wanted to see my routine. I was going to do a few gags with disemboweled rabbits and stuff, but I didn’t want to scare you Darcy. Not when you and Wanda said you wanted to see my show.”

            “That’s all you needed, wasn’t it?” Wanda said, “To relive the days when your job was just to bring smiles to people’s faces?”

            Clint sighed, and the gray form of a man walked up to Wanda from out of thin air. He looked very much like Clint, with the same eyes and mouth, but he was more heavy set. Darcy had never seen him, but she was half inclined to think that he was Clint’s dad. He laid a hand over Wanda’s heart, and an ornate necklace was left in his wake. Clint walked forward, and hugged Wanda. “Yeah, I just needed to remember that I could make people happy.”

            Wanda just hugged him back harder. “Then always remember that you make me happy, Clint. I lost a brother in Sokovia, but I regained the father I lost too young.”

            No one said anything about the tears that tracked down Clint’s cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who may not be familiar with the case, Pogo the Clown was the stage name taken by John Wayne Gacy, one of the most infamous serial killers of the 1970s. He raped and murdered something like 33 young men and boys, but while he was active he also worked charitable events and even children's birthday parties as Pogo the Clown. What is notable though is that his makeup was very sharp - the "smile" had sharp points, as did his triangular eye makeup. Most clowns prefer rounded edges on all of their makeup so as to seem less threatening. Compare the old Pennywise and the new one. Both have very pointed makeup rather than soft round edges. 
> 
> And I just love the idea of HawkDaddy too much guys. Just, so much. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments!


	24. Peter Pan (Spider)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grossest twofer ever.

            In retrospect, no one should have been surprised when they opened a door leading into the upper levels of the compound’s main building, and the room was completely covered in spider webs. They really shouldn’t have, because come on, what instantly creeps the largest number of people out? In fact, even the usually unflappable Nicholas J. Fury was looking around with thinly veiled disgust on his face. “Jesus,” Pepper said, her skin paling spectacularly. “Jesus.”

            “So, Peter or Natasha?” Bucky asked quietly.

            Darcy shuddered, and then reached for the knowing. She felt someone else cast out feelers on an emotional level, and realized that Wanda was using her abilities too. The two shared a glance before sending their powers out again, feeling along the room. It was dark, with only the emergency lights casting a dim glow through the dusty gray webs. When she finally touched on another person, Darcy opened up her senses. Mint chocolate cookies burst sweet and sharp over her tongue. Then, she tasted the overly saccharine flavor of bubblegum. “Uh, Bucky? Both of them are here.”

            “Both?” Maria asked.

            Cautiously, they filed into the room. It was another hallway, leading over to the lab building on the second level. Clint moved towards the front. He peered into the gloom, but shook his head. With a small, sad smile he glanced back at the two young women leading the pack. “Eyes aren’t what they used to be. I can’t see in the dim light any more than you can.”

            “Hey, let me, T’Challa, and Maria try,” Bucky said. “Our costumes have to be good for something.”

            The trio moved forward, overtaking Clint as they cautiously moved farther into the corridor. It was only lightly laced at the door area, but the webs were thicker towards the middle. “I can’t see anything,” T’Challa murmured. “But I can smell them.”

            “Careful,” Maria murmured. “Don’t touch the webs. I wouldn’t want to bet on how sticky they are.”

            Bruce shook his head. “That may be exactly what we need to do. We need to draw them out, and spiders always investigate –“

            He didn’t get the chance to finish.

            The webbing shook and rolled, and T’Challa, Bucky, and Maria recoiled when a monstrous spider-man thing burst out at them. However, he wasn’t attacking. _He was running_. “Get away, get away, _getawaygetaway!_ ”

            “Peter?” Darcy cried, bubblegum scent flowing over her upper palate.

            “Shit!” Bucky roared. “Out of the room!”

            They all instantly saw what had sent Peter and Bucky running. The creature was a gnarly, gigantic spider, with slender legs covered in a fine fur. A multitude of glowing red eyes regarded her prey wickedly as she shrieked at them. The carapace held a rather recognizable red hourglass shape. Darcy didn’t even need the lingering taste of Thin Mints to know who this was. As one, the terrified herd of Avengers turned tail and ran out of the door, poor Spider-Peter leading the way. T’Challa and Maria were the last out, and they slammed the fire doors closed, just in time to prevent Natasha the mutant spider from bursting through. The doors rattled for a few moments, and it took the first two plus Steve, Bruce, and Bucky to keep them closed.

            Spider Peter regarded them with sad eyes. “Thanks.”

            Darcy found herself able to smile. He was a curious melding of man and spider with an upright posture, four humanoid limbs and four spindly spider legs. He was covered in fur that was dark brown, and had two main humanoid eyes, plus two smaller ones where his eyebrows should be. His mouth was human, but his teeth were fanglike. When she reached out to touch his cheek, she found that his fur was unexpectedly soft. “No problem, Peter. Why did Natasha attack you?”

            The boy began to shake. “She wants babies.”

            Everyone turned and stared at him. “What?” Bucky asked flatly.

            Peter nodded. “Natasha wants babies. But you know, I’m not ready for all of that!” The poor kid’s voice quaked. “I’m just not ready for that man!”

            “Hey, hey,” Sam said, “Calm down! You’re okay.”

            “I mean,” Peter continued, “I know I’m an Avenger now, and I have to be mature, and I have to make sure that I’m doing the right thing, and I-“

            Darcy grabbed Peter’s cheeks, and forced him to one, stop talking, and two, look her in the eye. “Peter. You are a precious baby of seventeen. No one expects you to be perfectly mature all the time. Hell, you should hang out with Bucky and Steve more. I swear to God that I’ve seen them get into more slap fights than anyone.”

            “Really?” Peter asked softly, in his hopeful tone.

            “Oh yeah,” Bucky replied. “What was the last one about, Stevie? The remote?”

            “You stole it!” Steve said, throwing his hands out in front of him. “You know that I wanted to watch _Halloween Baking Championship,_ but nooooooooo! You turned it to SyFy! All of those movies are Netflix, jerk!”

            Bucky threw up his hands. “And we have it set to record on the DVR! Not like you didn’t get to watch it later, punk!”

            Darcy shared a look with Peter. He giggled, amused. The others looked on in various states of amusement and bemusement as the two super soldiers continued to bicker about each other’s television choices. Clint cocked a hip, still completely clad in his Pennywise-cum-Pogo knock off outfit, and stated, “You guys realize you have two TVs right?”

            “Not the point Clint!” the two men chorused.

            Darcy was the only one who saw an older Peter Parker – and hey, she thought, he was going to be a looker – lay a hand on each of Bucky’s ears. In their wake a pair of rakish gold hoops was left on each of Bucky’s doglike ears. Beside her, Peter took on a more human guise. The only spidery thing left on him were the two sets of blood red eyes. The Avengers smiled, and Pepper came up and gave Peter a hug. He returned it, and glanced back at the door. “So, what do we do about Natasha?”

  
            Sam stepped to the door. “Let me handle it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Peter, I torture him so.
> 
> I also love Halloween Baking Championship. So much.
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos!


	25. Family (Blood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam admits a few things to Natasha.

            Everyone gave Sam various looks of disbelief and awe. Fury was the one who spoke. “You sure about that Wilson? Romanoff is probably the most dangerous Avenger as a human, much less a giant spider.”

            “And she has to be having severe issues if she’s chasing Peter around to have babies,” Pepper added. “I mean, even as spider monsters.”

            Sam looked to Darcy and Wanda and smiled. “Yeah, but I think I know how to catch her ghost.”

            “Okay,” Darcy said. “I’m personally mystified, so go for it.”

            Steve and Bucky stepped forward. “At least let us strong guys help guard you. No telling what’s on the other side of the doors.”

            “Open just one instead of both,” Maria added. “She’s too big to get through just one.”

            “Good idea,” Bucky muttered, his lip curling. “I hate spiders.”

            “I think everyone does,” T’Challa said as he stood at Bucky’s side. “I am not fond of them myself.”

            Clint stood beside Sam. “Got your back.”

            “Birdbrains stick together,” Bucky muttered, which earned him a glare from the two men in question.

            Sam took the knob in hand, and slowly, gently, opened the door. The sound of it opening was loud in the ensuing silence, as the group held their breaths. Natasha was acknowledged by all present as the deadliest of the Avengers. Yes, Bucky, Steve, T’Challa, and Bruce were strong and fast. Yes, Maria, Fury, Clint, and Sam had mad skills. Yes, Wanda, Peter, and Darcy had powers. However, none of them were sure that they could compete with Natasha. She was a memetic badass even among the Avengers.

            “Nat?” Sam called softly. “You here?”

            “ _Ssssssssaaaaaaaaaammmmm_.”

            Darcy shuddered hard, and she saw several of the others react the same. “Yeah, I’m here.” Sam stepped into the room. “Wanna come out and talk?”

            “Yesssssss,” the raspy voice hissed, just before the mutant spider made its reappearance. It wasn’t charging this time, approaching with the same caution that Sam was showing it. “Whaaaaaat dooo  yoouuu waaaaant?”

            “To remind you that you’re not a monster,” Sam said.

            The demonic eyes set high on her monstrous head flashed. “Blooooooooood. Iiiiiii aaaaaam coooveeeered iiiin blooooooood. _Baaaaaaaabiiiiiiiiies! Whyyyyyyyyy caaaaan’t Iiiiii haaaaaaave baaaaaaabiiiiiiiies!”_ The creature shook its head back and forth, whipping violently through the thick webs.

            Sam didn’t react. “I know you want a family. Yours was taken away from you violently, cruelly, but that doesn’t define you, Nat. The blood on your hands doesn’t define you. The fact that you looked in the mirror and knew that the things you were doing were wrong and that you decided to change, _that’s what defines you_. You aren’t the Black Widow, master assassin and spy, not anymore. You are Black Widow, part of the Avenger _family_.”

            “Faaaaaaamiiiiiilyyyyyy,” she rasped.

            “Yeah,” Sam said, gesturing to the others. “Family. We are all a family. I mean, we’re all kind of dysfunctional, and Mom and Dad fight a lot, but these are your brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles. I mean, come on, you’re the one who called Steve ‘Mom’ and Peter ‘Baby Brother.’”

            Peter chose that moment to pipe back up, “I’d much rather be your baby brother than your baby daddy.”

            Darcy felt her lips twitch, and the spider took a few steps closer to Sam. “And,” Sam continued, “if you really want the whole white picket fence thing, well, I could be convinced to be the Dad to your Mom. And you told me that you couldn’t have your own kids, but that’s okay. Reilly and me . . .  Reilly was adopted. We made a promise that we’d adopt at least one kid. There are kids out there who don’t have anyone to love ‘em. Why don’t we fill the gap?”

            Natasha took another few steps forward until she loomed over Sam. He reached up and touched her mandible closest to him. It struck Darcy then that there was a common theme among the Avengers – they didn’t see themselves as heroes. They saw themselves as monsters, parasites, the bogeyman that haunted people’s dreams. Natasha wanted a family, but in her mind she was too much the Black Widow – she would destroy her mate, and children would forever be beyond her. “Okay, taking a wild leap here,” Sam said as he stroked what passed for her face, “But I’ve been in love with you for awhile now. You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

            Two gray shapes melted from out of the gloom. Based on their gasps, Darcy knew that Pepper and Wanda could see them. The man was tall, and had a friendly face wreathed in a full beard. The woman was petite and waifish, and between the two they could see Natasha. Her parents walked forward, and touched Sam’s left ring finger. The spider shrunk, and when she had two arms again, Natasha threw her arms around him. She buried her head into his chest. “Thank you,” she said brokenly. When she leaned back, her face was radiant with a smile. “I’m taking you up on that offer.”

            “How many do you want? I think we could handle two. Maybe three.” Sam grinned. “We’d also have to take turns on ops, but I think all the aunts and uncles won’t mind helping out.”

            She laughed, her normally husky voice a little broken up with her emotions. “I don’t think I’m ready right this second, but we’ll see.” She looked to the rest of the group, and smiled. Like Peter, the only remnant of her costume was two pairs of red eyes. She also still had fangs, but they were kind of cute on her.

            Darcy smiled, but froze. She felt the spell shifting again, trying desparately to change. She pushed back, and the spell sullenly listened. “Okay, now we need to find Tony and Rhodey.”

            “It’s 10:40,” Pepper said. “We need to find them in the next hour or else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help it, I'm a huge FalconWidow fan. I just, I just love the idea of them as a couple, and it creeps into many of my fan fics. I did decide to play with the whole thing from AoU where Natasha mentions her inability to have children, but interpret it instead that what she really desires and thinks she's too "monstrous" to have is a family since she expresses sorrow over her parents in CW's deleted scenes. And of course, here, Sam wants to give her that family. 
> 
> Granted, babies have been on the brain lately since my husband and I are hoping for a little bundle ourselves (and as of this posting, the possibility is real!) so there is that. :)
> 
> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!


	26. Infected (Zombie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey was easy to find. Deal with? Not so much.

            Rhodey was easy to find, but turned out to be hard to deal with. With time beginning to run short, they all quickly navigated the corridor of webs and went out into the lab building. The second story held two main labs, one dedicated to bio research (mostly in the field of finding medicines that actually worked on the super soldiers without killing them) and the other was Jane’s physics lab. Jane’s lab was the first one they entered. As soon as they entered the lab space, the Avengers deployed around Darcy, Wanda, and Pepper. It was done without much thought, as if they’d run this drill a thousand times. Two concentric rings formed, with Peter, Fury, Maria, Bruce, and Clint in the inner circle, and Natasha, Steve, Bucky, T’Challa, and Sam in the outer one.

            Darcy and Wanda felt around the space, but Wanda shook her head. “There is no one in the lab.”

            “She’s right,” Darcy said. “No one in here.” The Avengers collapsed then, going back into their original traveling line. Somewhere along the way it was silently decided that Bucky, Steve, Darcy, and Wanda would lead them, with T’Challa, Fury, and Maria bringing up the rear. Everyone else spread out along the line in their various configurations. The only difference this time was that Natasha and Sam walked hand in hand. When they reached the door to the hallway between the labs, Steve held up his hand. “We’ve got two choices from here, go up to Tony’s lab, or check out the bio lab. What should we do?”

            “Check the bio lab first,” Pepper said. “Tony is more than likely up in his lab, but I don’t know if they’ll be a twofer like Peter and Natasha.”  
            “Bio lab it is,” Steve said as he stepped through the doors. The hallway was made of opaque bulletproof glass, so they couldn’t see directly into the hall or the next lab. Once they were all out into the hallway, Darcy held up her hand in an imitation of Steve. “Let me and Wanda go first this time.”

            Steve’s eyes bore into hers, and she saw Bucky worry his lip with his fangs. “I don’t like this, Baby doll,” Steve said quietly. “Something’s not right.”

            Darcy nodded. “I know. I feel it too. The spell tried to shift again, and I stopped it, but I’m not sure I completely thwarted it. It’s weird – I managed to keep it from going too far, but I can’t tell if I stopped it completely.”

            Wanda called up her red magic. “It’s okay. I can act as defense while you focus on sensing for Rhodey or Tony.”

            Darcy nodded, and the two of them stepped into the bio lab. Suffice to say, neither one really needed to wait long, or even use their abilities to find the person in the room. A bloodcurdling howl echoed through the cavernous space, and Rhodey galloped towards them. Both women screamed because he was a vision from a nightmare.

            His dark skin was covered in blood and gore, and chunks of flesh were missing from his cheek and jowl. His military uniform was tattered and torn, blood spattered all over the blue jacket. His eyes were clouded and tinted a sickly, jaundiced yellow, while his teeth were stained black and red. He looked like a classic zombie, except for that one thing. He didn’t shuffle, no, he _ran._ And he was running right for them.

            Both women ducked back out into the hallway, and slammed the door shut. There was an audible thud and crunch as Rhodey hit it head on. He shrieked again, and the others formed a barricade of flesh. After a few minutes, they watched his shadow move away from the door. They all shared equal looks of consternation. “He’s an Infected,” Darcy finally wheezed.

            “Infected?” Wanda asked

            “You know, a fast zombie,” she replied, looking up at the others. “And quite frankly, I have no idea how we’re going to get through to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm having a lot of issues with my internet connection, and it's been a real pain to update these last couple of days. If I haven't replied to your comment, I promise I will because I love talking with you guys, but it might take a couple of days. 
> 
> But thank you so much for the kudos and comments! They make this all worthwhile. :)


	27. Final Boss (Darkness)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey's ghost is theirs . . . but heeeeeeeere's Tony!

“. . .  Maybe if we can get ahold of him? Hold him down and talk at him?”

            “Still too dangerous,” Maria said, “If he sinks his teeth into you, it’s game over.”

            They had spent the last five minutes bandying back and forth methods for dealing with Rhodey the Infected Zombie Creature. “Maybe we should think about why he’s a zombie first,” Darcy said.

            The others looked to her with various expressions of curiosity and skepticism. “Easy,” Nat said, “He’s a zombie because he was reanimated.”

            The others blinked, and Darcy grinned. “Exactly. So, where do we hit him to make him crumple?”

            Maria blinked slowly. “Are you suggesting that we break his spinal column?”

            Darcy threw out her hands. “Look, I know! Okay, I know. But the thing is, _this world isn’t real_. And Rhodey’s spinal injury never fully healed. If we end up aggravating his injury, its not like we’re going to take away his ability to walk again. I mean . . . the Enchantress wasn’t kidding when she said we have a time limit. I can feel it, kinda like a buzzing under the surface of my skin. We’ve got less than an hour or else we’re stuck here. Forever. And all the power I’ve gained from Enchantress? I think that’ll go bye-bye. I think Rhodey will forgive us under the circumstances.”

            “Okay, how?” Natasha asked. The men had been watching the byplay between the three women with horrified interest.

            Darcy turned to Steve. “Well, we do have someone on our team with some mad Frisbee skills.”

            Steve sighed. “You want me to break Rhodey’s back? With what?”

            She bit her lip, and the young Enchanter knelt down. She had an idea, but she wasn’t so sure it would work. She closed her eyes, and pushed with her will. When she had been younger, she’d totally been a comic book geek. One of her favorite series had been the Green Lantern books. She knew that her powers didn’t work the exact same way as Hal Jordan’s, but she was willing to bet that she could form what she needed using her will. She heard the others gasp and that’s when she opened her eyes. On the floor was a familiar shield. She picked it up and handed it to Steve.

            He nodded. “Let’s do this.”

            Bucky went to the door, and Steve stepped up beside him. With a nod, the werewolf threw open the door. Rhodey’s back was turned, and Steve tossed his signature weapon without hesitation. It connected wetly, and Rhodey went down. The older man flopped about on the ground, his mouth working and horrible, animal sounds coming from his mouth. “Okay, now what?” Bucky asked.

            Nat stepped forward. “Hey Rhodey,” she said softly, and amazingly, the sounds of animal pain began to die down. “I know you’re scared, and you don’t like this, but we need you to come back to us. You’re not some weird infected thing, you’re _you_. Your ability to be an effective Avenger has not been lessened because of your need for prosthetics. That’s all the Iron Man and War Machine suits are. You are not less because of your disability. Never.”

            Wanda knelt beside Nat. “You are still Rhodey who tells the same story to everyone he meets about the tank.”

            “You’re still the Rhodey that somehow puts up with Tony on a daily basis,” Bruce added.

            A gray shape walked forward, and laid a hand on Nat’s wrist. Darcy couldn’t help the sad smile that graced her face as she looked into the younger face of Tony Stark, the Tony that existed before his imprisonment in the desert. He gave her a cocky grin, and then was no more. Rhodey levered himself up, and smiled at them. He was still missing a chunk of his jaw, but otherwise their other wise-cracking suit wearer was back.

            “Wow, you guys look . . . ridiculous.”

  

* * *

 

 

 

            Time was running out, and they had only one person left to find. The Avengers were now more or less united, with Pepper and Darcy rounding their number to fourteen. They didn’t stop, but instead moved on. Darcy had managed to will Rhodey into having his ability to walk again, at least for the duration of the spell. She told him as much after he’d been given the skinny version of events.

            “We’re in a weird spell world,” Maria said.

            “Darcy has powers like me now,” Wanda added.

            “We are all dressed up because the original witch was a nutjob,” Bruce said.

            “Steve, Darcy, and Bucky are a thing now,” Peter said.

            “We have to collect Tony’s ghost which is his regrets and guilt,” Steve added with a repressive look at the youngest person there.

            “And Sam declared his love for me,” Natasha said cheekily.

            Rhodey blinked twice as he got used to moving his own two legs again. “Okay, one, damn man, Sam you be crazy. Two, when the hell were Steve, Darcy, and Bucky not a thing? And three, _the hell_?” In the background, Pepper threw up her hands as Bruce smirked.

            “Just run with it,” Clint said, with a pat to his back. “Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself insane.”

            The two labs checked, they made their way to the stairwell leading up to the top floor. Tony’s labs took up the entire top level of the lab building, and were accessible via elevator, but they knew they wouldn’t all fit. Instead, Darcy and Steve led them to the fire stairs. When the door opened, the corridor was completely black. “Oh shit,” Darcy said.

            “You think Tony is in there?” Steve asked quietly.

            Darcy stepped forward and took in a deep breath. She only caught hints of spiced chocolate – Steve – and Wanda’s devil’s food cake. “No,” she answered, “he’s not in there.”

            “We’re going to have to go up in the dark,” Steve said. “Everybody, careful.” He took Darcy’s hand, and led her into the blackness. The corridor’s lights barely penetrated, and they ended up walking slowly up the stairs, Darcy’s free hand using the wall as a guide. She felt her heart speed up as they got further into the dark. She heard the others behind her, their breaths loud in the quiet. No one wanted to speak, as if they were all instinctively afraid of the darkness, as if it were a creature in and of itself getting ready to eat them alive.

            An eternity seemed to pass of Darcy feeling along the wall, of her taking slow, careful steps. The only comfort was the feel of Steve’s hand wrapped around hers. She wondered at him, and Bucky, and at the fact that they wanted to be hers. She hadn’t had any time to really think about the fact that these two men wanted her to be a part of a relationship. Wanted her. No one had mentioned love, all of their declarations couched in terms of want and friendly affection, but suddenly her curiosity bubbled over. She needed to know, needed to know if they felt the way she did. A life without Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers would be livable, but it would be bland and gray, just like the ghosts.

            She looked inward, stuck as she was in the darkness, and examined her skill set. When she was sure she could do it, she opened up her soul and reached out. _Do you love me_?

            Steve’s soul was bright and shining, sunshine incarnate. But though that thought brought a smile to her lips, she realized that it wasn’t just true in the cutesy sense. Steve was sunshine, warm and loving, and he was sunshine, harsh and unforgiving. Light was not always good. Sometimes the rays of the sun could burn mercilessly, could destroy that which it helped create. Sunshine was elemental, powerful, and sometimes cruel. So was Steve.

            Bucky’s soul was a river, deep and changeable. Sometimes he was refreshing, a balance to Steve’s intensity, and sometimes he rose above his banks, destroying what he nourished too. But whereas Steve was warm and inviting, Bucky was cool and contemplative. Perhaps once he was a sun like Steve, but his sunlight had turned into a stream, one that could easily drown you should you not be careful.

            Neither one of them was as good and pure as others might think, but they weren’t completely damned either. Both of them did have one thing in common though. When she pushed, when she asked their souls, they both replied with feelings of such affection and care that she felt tears stinging her eyes. She fed her own feelings back, and she felt Steve squeezing her hand. A hitch of breath behind her informed her that Bucky felt it as well. Later, when this was over, they’d talk more about this, but her heart was buoyed.

            That is, until they finally made it into Tony’s lab.

            The true horror was that the space looked normal. Completely. Nothing seemed out of place at all, and DUM-E even came over to greet Steve and Darcy when they stepped out. The others filed in as well. For a moment, Darcy was afraid that Tony wasn’t there until the taste of cinnamon ice cream played across her tongue. Sweet, spicy, playful, _Tony_.

            “So good of you to join me,” his voice rang out in modulated, false tones.

            Robotic tentacles flew from every imaginable hiding place, snaring the Avengers as if they were nothing. They raced up legs and down arms and around torsos so quickly that no one had a chance to even try to break free. Darcy felt the thick cables wrap around her middle like a python of titanium, and she was jerked back until she hung midair. The others were similarly treated. Out of the shadows at the corner of the lab, strode Tony.        

            Except, it wasn’t Tony. It was the Iron Man suit, Mark what-the-fuck-ever, but it moved like Tony. It swaggered up to Fury, and cocked its head. “Learned that little trick from you, Nick.”

            “Tony,” Pepper cried.

            “Oh look, my old ball and chain,” the suit said. “I guess I’m going to be rid of you too, hunh?”

            The tentacle wrapped around Darcy’s throat, and terror flashed through her. She could feel it from every single other Avenger. Bruce had already Hulked out, but the cables had simply adapted. They struggled and fought, but the things were too powerful. _The spell_ , she thought.

            “Dammit Tony,” Steve growled.

            “That is so typically you,” the suit muttered.

            The tentacles began to squeeze, and Darcy realized just what this entire situation was. All of this had been a game, a sick, twisted game, but a game none the less. And here they were, one ghost left. However, as any good little geek and gamer girl knew, that meant that Tony was that one thing, the hardest part of any good game.

            Final boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, I had this whole thing all finished up yesterday! All through chapter 31 . . . except I accidentally had two chapter 26s! Both of them used the "darkness" prompt, so I decided to simply combine them. :) I hope you enjoyed the double chapter!


	28. Man in the Machine (Skull)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy realizes that she'll never get through to Tony.

            The Iron Man suit swaggered over to Darcy. “By the way, before you die, nice suit Lewis. I kinda thought you might have had a crush on Capsicle.”

            “Why?” she rasped. “Why kill us?”

            The suit cocked its head. “Why not?”

            Her blood ran cold. Tony was speaking like a complete sociopath. Like a complete . . .  robot. “Tony, please,” she continued, “you don’t want to kill us.”

            “How do you know?” The way he said it was eerily the same as how Ultron had sounded. She’d seen the security tapes of that particular incident.

            “Because you’re not like this Tony!” Pepper cried. “You’re not someone who hurts people!”

            The suit swung around to face her. “Oh really? I seem to have actually made that my career, m’dear, or do you think we only went out to hug HYDRA scum?”

            “Please, Tony,” Wanda began.

            “Like I would even listen to anything you said,” he said before she could finish.

“Tony,” Pepper continued, tears streaking down her cheeks, “I know you’re in there. Please.”

He laughed harshly, and the visor flipped up. There was a collective gasp as they beheld the naked white skull inside the helmet. “Yes, I am, but I’m not Tony anymore.”

The men had been largely silent, but now they began to plead and threaten him as well. Darcy was too shocked to really notice. The women were trying to reach Tony as well, except for Natasha who had joined the men in their angry cries.

            When she reached for the knowing, it wasn’t there. For a moment she panicked, thinking that the challenge had already been lost, but cold reason washed over her. She had at least another forty-five minutes before time was up, and she wasn’t dead yet. Every final boss had some weakness that she could exploit to win the game. She just had to figure out Tony’s. _Think, Darcy, think_.

            What could he regret? That was a laundry list the size of her arm. Okay, what things had affected him the most in life? Darcy racked her brain, coming up with all that she could remember from the media and her talks with the boys. Apparently Tony had some major Daddy issues, so there was his father. His parents had also been assassinated by Bucky back in the nineties when he was just a teen, but he wasn’t singling out Bucky. He’d led the life of a young playboy up until he had been kidnapped back in ’08. Not long after, he’d found out that his longtime friend and business partner was behind the whole thing, Obadiah Stane. Then there were the whole Expo shenanigans that she barely remembered, and then he joined the Avengers. That culminated in a rather public fight with Steve.

            After thinking it through, it hit her.

            “Steve,” she said as softly as she could. “It has to be you.”

            Steve turned his head as much as he could, giving her an odd look. “Why?”

            “Every important man in his life has hurt him,” she explained quietly. “It’s why Pepper can’t get through to him. Think about it! Women have fawned over him his entire life. But men? The only close male friends he ever made ended up either being hurt by him or betraying him.”

            Steve blinked. “What do I say?”

            “Say what feels right,” she replied.

            Steve turned his head back to where Tony was taunting Rhodey for stupidity. “Tony!” he called.

            The grotesque suit turned back to him, having never put down its visor. “What’s up Capsicle?”

            “I’m proud of you.”

            The words rang through the suddenly silent chamber like church bells on a quiet Sunday morning. The suit froze. “What did you say?” Tony whispered.

            “I’m proud of you,” Steve said. “You’ve done so much, lived through so much. You’re amazing, Tony. And sometimes I wish that I could tell you that, but I . . . I always feel like you won’t believe me.”

            “My dad always bragged about you,” Tony whispered. “Said you were one of his greatest creations.”

            “I wasn’t his creation,” Steve said just as quietly. “You are. You can disbelieve me all you want, but you are Howard and Maria Stark’s greatest creation. You are everything your father wished he was. Do you know that? He told me once that he wished he could be a hero like us, fighting out on the front line.”

            “No,” Tony said. “He never did.”

            “Well he did, but he never had what it took. You do. You saw what you were doing wrong, what you needed to fix, and you owned it. You fixed it. With all that’s happened to you, you’ve never lost faith in humanity. I guess . . . I guess in that way you’re better even than me.” Steve’s smile was watery and gentle.

            The visor snapped down, and the suit looked to the ground. Peter chose that time to pipe up. “Hey, Mr. Stark, do you remember the Expo back in ’10? When Justin Hammer’s droids went crazy? You, uh, you met a little kid in an Iron Man mask?”

            “Yeah?” Tony asked, his voice soft and hesitant.

            “That was me,” Peter said with a bright smile. “That was me. I was there with Aunt May. Uncle Ben had just passed away, and she thought going to see my hero would help cheer me up. And it did! I met you. That’s when I decided that I wanted to be just like you, go into engineering and everything. You . . . you saved me that year. I don’t know what I would have done without Tony Stark to look up to. And you know, since we’re bearing our souls and all . . . I, uh, I started daydreaming that you would fly in one day and adopt me. Take me to live up in your big tower and build me a mini Iron Man suit, and everything. Aunt May would come live there too, but she’d still be my aunt and everything.”

            Peter bit his lip, tears in his eyes. “Meeting you, having you mentor me, even when you were just being obnoxious about the whole being-my-dad thing . . . it was a dream come true. I wanted to so bad to impress you because I wanna be just like you. Okay, maybe not the whole playboy thing, but, um, I want to be a hero like you.”

            At this point, the suit had completely stopped moving. Darcy held her breath, but her answer came not from the immobile form of a man on the ground, but instead the tentacles holding her hostage. They lowered, loosened, and set everyone free. Finally, the suit moved, but only to let the man inside out of it. Peter and Steve had already been moving forward, but now the three met in the middle. Not caring a whit for the others, the three men embraced, and Darcy smiled.

            One last gray figure melted out of the shadows, and sure enough, Howard Stark walked up to Steve and touched his waist. A heavy belt of golden links wrought in the shape of suns encircled his waist. Pepper approached, and Tony pulled her into the group hug. She went willingly, and didn’t even comment on the nasty things Tony had said. She was well aware that his ghost had turned him cruel, and she was just so glad for him to be alive.

            “So,” Fury said finally. “That was number thirteen. What now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it hit me when I was planning out this encounter that Tony really doesn't have a lot of healthy interactions with other men. In canon the only two we see him interacting with in a more or less non-adversarial way are Rhodey and Bruce (an argument could be made for Coulson and Thor too), so it made sense to me that Tony's main issue would be a combination of his father issues with his feelings of betrayal. And the thing with Peter was just because I love the idea of them having this mentor-student relationship, especially since Peter is shown to crave a relationship with a father figure (think about how happy he is even just to check in with Happy). 
> 
> Three more chapters to go . . .


	29. Putting the Fun in Dysfunction (Monster Mash)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gets all the bling.

            Tony finally examined everyone around him, and his lips turned up in a playful smile. “Yeah, I’m lovin’ the whole Monster Mash lineup we’ve got going here, but what is going on?”

            “Our quest is over,” Pepper said happily, “We’ve got everyone’s ghosts.”

            They all shared various looks. “Yeah, but I wasn’t the one to catch em all,” Darcy said with a grin. “But then again, I think that was the point.”

            “Why?” T’Challa asked.

            She smiled softly. “To show us we’re a family, like Sam said.”

            There were more shared looks of confusion. But then, T’Challa had the proverbial light bulb go off. “Of course,” he said with a smile, “The purpose of this exercise wasn’t just to choose a successor as you said. It was to strengthen our ties.”

            “Because no one of us caught everyone’s ghost,” Bruce continued, pointing at T’Challa in thoughtful agreement.

            “We caught the ghosts of the people we understood the best, who had the closest ties with us, but it wasn’t really a mutual thing,” Maria continued. “It was all intertwined together. Just like a real family.”

            “We may have the people we prefer,” Nick said thoughtfully, “But we’re all still connected.”

            “Darcy caught me and Steve’s ghost,” Bucky said, “But I got Peter’s.”

            “I caught Bruce’s ghost,” Pepper said, “But not Tony’s.”

            “And so on,” Wanda said. “Not everyone caught a ghost, and some of us caught more than others, but that’s okay. Some of us move more easily within the group.”

            Darcy smiled at the rest of the team. She could sense everyone’s feelings of happiness and amazement as they finally understood something that they should have known from the start. They were a big dysfunctional family, but they cared for one another just the same. Even T’Challa, but then again he was not as reticent about adopting new members into his family as one might believe. “Now, we do still have a problem,” she said brightly. “I have no idea how to get us out of this spell world.”

            Clint nodded. “You said that the Enchantress said someone had to catch all thirteen ghosts. Maybe we need to give you the ghosts?”

            “You mean the bling?” Tony asked, pointing to Steve’s waist. “Because you know, no one has explained anything to me, still.”

            “Sounds like a good idea,” Sam agreed, ignoring Tony’s outburst. He slipped the ring from his finger, and held it out to Darcy.

            She took it, and put it on her right ring finger. Natasha handed her the bracelet she had, and Darcy put it on the opposite wrist from the bracelet she received from Maria. She got another bracelet from Maria, as well as the three necklaces from Maria, Pepper, and Wanda. When all three were on, they fused into a three tiered confection of flat golden links set with purple stones. She got the last bracelet from Bucky, and the earrings he received from Peter, and all of them changed as well. The bracelets flattened out, wrapping her wrists in gold set with red gems. The earrings went from simple golden hoops to cascading dangles with red gems at the ends. Finally, Steve took off the belt and wrapped it around her waist. It didn’t change shape, but red jewels studded the links. It looked a little incongruous since she was still in her golden version of Cap’s stealth suit, but she couldn’t help the little giggle of delight.

            The world went white, black, then white again. No one had time to cry out, but suddenly they were in the white room where everything had begun. The Enchantress stood before them, resplendent yet no longer a perfect specimen of womanhood. Her voice was also no longer poison honey, but instead simply a husky female voice, all supernatural beauty gone. “Congratulations, Darcy Lewis, you’ve broken the spell.”

            “Thanks,” she answered, “Can we go home now?”

            The Enchantress smiled. “Not just yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to go! 
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for reading this, and having a good ole time with me this October. :)
> 
> PS: Thanks to the person who told me that I accidentally double posted this chapter. :)


	30. Lost Souls (Tricks)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enchantress finally comes clean.

“What more is there? Darcy beat your spell,” Steve asked belligerently.

            The Enchantress waved a hand, and all of the lingering costumes were swept away. The Avengers blinked, now dressed in their usual every day clothes. Darcy, however, was now back into her sumptuous Enchanter gown. The jewels she’d gained glinted against the beauty of the dress. “I’m afraid that I have not been completely honest in what all of this is about.”

            Pepper rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we got that pretty quickly.”

            “I am . . . not the Enchantress.”

            This brought about half of the group up short. “What?” Bucky asked. “But . . .  you’re the one we saw. I mean, right?”

            “Yes, but the last Enchantress has . . . been gone a long time. I have held out, forced her body to move, gone through the motions, but her grasp of morality is beginning to slip.” The woman who they thought was the Enchantress shook her head. “Let me begin at the beginning.”

            She held up her arms and indicated everything around them. “This place is a real place, just not where you would think. I brought you here, physically, mentally, to test not just Darcy and Pepper and the other three ladies, but to also test _you_. The Avengers. A dark force is coming, one that I find that I would prefer not to have my power.”

            She took a deep breath. “I am not an organic being. My sentience only came about because of my particular power source and skill set. Long, long ago, eons and eons before your species had evolved, I was found by a set of beings known as Celestials. Like me, they had been born at the beginning of all things, and like me they were of immense power. They took me, and hoped to wield me. Fortunately for all sentiences in the universe, the particular Celestial who first found me was kind, and prone to compassion. She called herself Enchantress, and created an order of Enchanters to help her serve the universe. She took to her side a set of companions, whom she called her Anchors. As other Celestials turned to madness in the long march of time, she was kept grounded by her faithful retainers.

            “But one day, another Celestial decided that he wanted my power. He tried to take me, but by then I had developed my own will, my own mind after being so close to Enchantress and her Anchors. I took him into myself, to this place, and tested him. I found him not worthy. His soul lingers still, deep and dreaming of his dark madness. Instead, the Anchors brought me another candidate and a set of companions who passed my test. I conferred my powers onto her, and she became Enchantress. So I have done in the eons since the first one’s death.

            “You are here because my last Enchantress did not die – but her beloved Anchors did. They were killed by the menace who will be coming for you next. She wilted, dear Lynya, after the death of her beloved Macai and Socie. I have held out as long as I can, but the dark souls I have captured over the years push at me, try to twist me into madness. My abilities can be used to heal, to destroy, or to capture, and they yearn for me to destroy and wreak havoc on the world that they hate so. Lynya never had the heart to be a Destroyer, and unfortunately that means that all she ever did to the evil of the universe was bottle it up.”

            Darcy swallowed, understanding beginning to dawn. “You want me to become the next Enchantress and wield  . . . you.”

            “Yes.”

            “What are you?” T’Challa asked.

            However, it was Tony that answered. “You’re an Infinity Stone.”

            Everyone turned and looked at him. “Remember what Thor said? That the stones were ancient and powerful? I mean, it fits.”

            “Tony is correct,” the Enchantress said. “I am an Infinity Stone. Specifically, I am the Soul Stone, and I offer my power to you, Darcy Lewis.”

            Darcy felt the world stop for a moment. Her? The intern? But then, she remembered the night, running through it in her head. She’d faced down monsters and ghosts, and she’d won. She’d embraced her deepest desires, and found two men that were half way in love with her, smart ass attitude and all. _She could totes do this_. “Yes, I will.”

            The Enchantress – the Soul of the Soul Stone – stepped forward. “You must choose your Anchors, and return the jewels of those who you do not wish to bind to you.”

            “Why?” Maria asked.

            “Because each piece of jewelry is a piece of their soul,” the Soul Stone answered. “They will be given longevity to match yours because they will draw on my power.”

            Darcy wet her lips, and looked back at the Avengers. “Look, I’m not going to choose. You guys have to volunteer.”

            “Keep ours, Baby Doll,” Steve said with a wink.

            “Yeah, we told you we were with you,” Bucky added.

            Tony looked poleaxed. “The hell?” He looked to Pepper. “When did this happen?” His fiancée laughed. “Hey, Soul Sister, can she take pieces of souls from non-Avengers?”

            The Soul Stone cocked a brow. “Yes, she can. She can also release and take new Anchors as she wills.”

            “Pep?” he said. Tony and Pepper shared a look, before Pepper nodded. “Then take a bit of Pepper too. We’re with you.”

            “What Tony means to say is that he wants to spend the next eternity tormenting Cap,” Pepper added, “But I would like to become your Anchor too.”

            “In that case,” Nat said, “Keep mine as well.” The look she gave Tony was withering, but he simply grinned at her.

            “And mine,” Sam said.

            “Keep mine,” Wanda said.

            Peter fidgeted and shook his head. “Sorry, but . . . I don’t think I’m ready for eternity just yet.”

            “I second that,” Clint said. “I’ve got to talk to Laura, but I think we’re going to want to grow old together.”

            Bruce looked thoughtful. “It’s odd, I’ve wished for death so much that I would have thought that I’d say no, but you know what, keep mine. We can talk to Betty later.”

            “I’m too old to be this old for eternity,” Fury said.

            “I’m with Peter,” Maria said. She grinned. “No offense Darcy.”

            “None taken,” she replied, carefully taking off each person’s jewelry – soul? – and handing it back. She held out a hand to Pepper, and Pepper grasped it. Another ring adorned her left thumb.

            “I will need mine as well,” T’Challa said, “though I will always be your ally.”

            “Keep mine,” Rhodey said, “You guys are going to need someone who can deal with Tony.”

            “Then it’s all settled,” the Soul Stone said with a smile. “Now, I will set you back at the moment that I drew you from the real world.”

            “What about costumes?” Tony piped up. He gestured down at his black pants and shirt. “Not what I was originally going to go as.”

            The Soul Stone laughed. “Just think of what you want to be dressed as, and your wish will be my command.”

            Fourteen minds wished, and the Soul Stone laughed in glee as she sent them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally we come to the entire reason I wrote this whole thing! Whew! I mean, this was more or less the scene I have been waiting to share with you guys since, like, the beginning! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this month. Tomorrow is the final chapter/epilogue, and I hope it's a real treat for you guys too! Hugs and Hershey's Kisses for all of you!


	31. End of the Beginning (Treats)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers need a drink.

They were in Tony’s lab. The sounds of the party drifted up to them from down below, but they were in the quiet of the lab. Fifteen pairs of eyes turned to each other, marveling at what they saw. Darcy was still in her Enchantress dress with all of her impressive soul jewels, but one last thing had been added. Her dark hair was crowned with a circlet of delicate vines surrounding an amber jewel to size of her thumb. All of the gems had turned to amber as well, except for the rings on her left ring finger. The two star-shaped stones still twinkled clear and red – diamond and ruby.

            Steve and Bucky were still dressed as a vampire and a werewolf, but now they were obviously wearing mundane costumes. Bucky had a set of ears perched up on his head, and his face was painted to resemble fur and a muzzle. His blue-gray eyes were a bright contrast to the darker brown. He wore a tattered t-shirt and jeans, and his fingers sported what were obviously press-on claws. It was a professional looking costume, but still just a bit of make up and clothing. Steve had in fangs, as did Bucky, and he wore a different silk shirt. This time he was obviously supposed to be Dracula too, with a black and red cape fluttering behind him. His skin was pale, and his lips faintly bloody.

            Tony and Pepper had become a cop and firefighter. Pepper was in a convincing policewoman’s uniform, serviceable and obviously not-sexy as before, and Tony was dressed in the stripped down version of a fireman’s protective suit. He even had the helmet and everything. All of the gear looked real enough to have been purchased from a supplier. Beside them, Rhodey was dressed as an old fashioned judge in dark robes and a white powdered wig.

            T’Challa was still a black cat, but his costume had an African flare. The suggestions of fur were angular and strong, and his black suit was in a typical Wakandan style. Beside him, Wanda had wanted her banshee costume back. Clint was no longer a clown, but a demon. He sported curved back horns, and impressive prosthetic makeup that obscured his face enough to almost not be him at all. He wore tattered dark robes, and had black clawed nails. Peter was a zombie, and looked like he was an extra from a movie, right down to having a convincing bite out of his left arm. His clothing was tattered and bloody.

            Natasha was a swan. Her dress was a full skirted ball gown, with lace that made the suggestion of fathers. The bodice was a corset, and her face was painted in the graceful black and white of a swan’s. Beside her, Sam was an eagle, austere in black and white, his beak painted in vivid yellow. Both of them wore contacts to complete the look. Maria had kept the hell hound look, but her ears were fake too. Fury had decided to follow her lead, and was dressed in all black, face painted to look like fur, and with fake ears. Bruce had imagined himself as a pharaoh so that he could match Betty.

            In all, they were a pretty impressively costumed group. “You know, I could use a drink,” Darcy said. “And I hear there’s a party downstairs.”

            The others grinned, and they all filed out quietly. They made their way to the party, but were met by the concerned faces of three women. Jane and Betty were pale and nervous. Laura looked furious. “Are you okay?”

            Clint walked forward and hugged her, though it took Laura a second to realize who it was. “Clint? Are you okay?”

            “We’re fine, babe, we’ll tell you about it later.” He smiled, and even with the demonic makeup he looked sweet. “Right now, we could use some light hearted fun.”

            Betty was already hugging Bruce, and Jane was giving Darcy a gimlet glare. It was not lost on the older woman that Darcy was being escorted by Steve and Bucky. “So, I’ll hear about it later, hunh?”

            Darcy smiled brightly. “Totally!”

            Jane’s eyes moved to the two men. “And will I be hearing about this,” she said gesturing to the linked arms, “Now?”

            “Nope,” Darcy said with a pop on the “p.” “I’m getting a drink, and then dancing with my men.”

            “Here, here,” Bucky said, pulling her into the main room that had been set aside for dancing. Steve sighed and looked at Jane. “I’ll tell ya about it. All of it. But first, let’s get a drink.”

            “I’m going to get a dance with you too Steve!” Darcy cried.

            “Nope,” Steve said, taking Jane’s arm while the astrophysicist chuckled, “I’m getting a drink with my new best friend. You go have fun.”

            “When did I become your new best friend?” Jane asked.

            “When Bucky and I found someone else for him to drag around a dance floor,” Steve replied.

            Darcy threw back her head and laughed. Only the fourteen who had endured the trial of the Soul Stone knew the reason why the room suddenly felt lighter and brighter. Everyone else merely looked around, stunned at how beautiful everything suddenly felt, how wonderful it was to be there. They began to laugh louder, easier, and enjoy themselves that much more. The twinkling candles and festive decorations took on an odd joy themselves, bright orange and deep black dragging all present back to their childhood memories of Halloween, and the excitement of the haunting night. A spell had been cast over them, and the reveled in it.

            And no one save Bucky, Steve, and Jane saw the Enchantress’s eyes flash amber and gold.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say again - THANK YOU! All of you who read this story from the beginning and reviewed almost every single chapter, thank you so much. 
> 
> And for those of you who want more . . . I've decided to make this a series! The next one will be Thanksgiving themed of course, but I don't think any of them are going to be as long as this one. I think the Thanksgiving on is going to be about four or five chapters long at most. You should see it out later this November. :) 
> 
> But for now, thank you again for coming along on this adventure with me!

**Author's Note:**

> And feel free to come talk to me over on Tumblr! I'm LadyKnightSkye over there as well!


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